


Great Expectations

by Kuroyuki_Kokuyoku



Series: Great Expectations [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, 文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs
Genre: AbilityUser!Jasmine, Childhood Friends, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Fem!Harry, MamaBear!Jasmine, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Papa!Fuku, Ranpo has a kohai, Running Gags, Snitch the Snidget, Teddy the Kawaii Son, bless Luna and her eccentricity, headcanons theories and speculations, pairings to be determined, penpals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-10-30 18:52:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10882851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuroyuki_Kokuyoku/pseuds/Kuroyuki_Kokuyoku
Summary: It all started out with a letter. Things will never be the same in Yokohama.(10/30/17) IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT ON MY FANFICTION.NET PROFILE!!! I'm really sorry to have to do this to all of you...





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything by J. K. Rowling or by Kafka Asagiri.
> 
> AN: First chapter done! After finishing my first wave of midterms, I decided to celebrate by posting up this new story. 
> 
> 'Italicized-Thoughts.'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Setting the stage...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own anything by J. K. Rowling or by Kafka Asagiri and Sango Harukawa.
> 
> First chapter done! After finishing my first wave of midterms, I decided to celebrate by posting up this new story.
> 
> Edited (7/13/17)
> 
> 'Thoughts.'

If anyone were to ask around Privet Drive what kind of person is "Jasmine Potter", the whole neighborhood would have replied with something along the lines of "a good-for-nothing problem child whom the Dursleys took into their household out of the goodness of their hearts". However, they couldn't be any farther from the truth.

Little Jasmine was a tiny waif of a girl with big, vivid green eyes hidden away behind a taped-up pair of coke-bottle glasses and a bird's nest of shoulder length black curls. Her small form was always swimming in worn out hand-me-down cloths that would normally fit a boy nearly twice her size and weight.

If anyone were to closely examine her actions, they would see that the girl was often seen going about the Dursley House doing all sorts of chores. Cooking, dishes, dusting, gardening. The amount of time spent would have been quite unusual for a girl her size and age to do to anyone who cared. Sadly, what was "unfair" was considered "necessary discipline" to the eyes of the residents of Privet Drive.

In school, she was always alone. Her cousin, Dudley Dursley, would regularly torment her with his friends with a game they made up called "Jasmine Jumping" both inside and outside of school whenever they had the chance. For the most part, she found she can get away by hiding in the library. There she would spend most of the day there reading whichever book caught her fancy until it was almost time for her to make her relatives dinner before turning into her room that was the cupboard beneath the staircase.

For a while, this was her daily life. No matter how much she wished things would change, she knew things wouldn't. But deep down, there was a part of her that dared to hope no matter how badly her aunt and uncle treated her. Little did she knew that things will change.

Not for the worst or what one would expect. But for the better.

(◎▼◎)

Jasmine was six years old when things finally started looking up. Their headmistress, C. Roemmele, managed to get the school she and Dudley attended involved in an international penpal program, which was a great honor as many of the schools from all over the world, were pretty prestigious and/or well-known.

The goal of the program was to promote international cooperation among the nations through their respective students. Every student at St. Grogory's Primary School was required to communicate by letter to the assigned person from another country for a minimal period of three months and then "introduce" their new "friend" to their respective class by the end of the year.

Names were all the information they were given. Everything else they would have to find out on their own through the exchange of letters. Some penpals were typically in the same country depending on the class, but they could be from different school districts and/or different grade levels altogether.

Their class was assigned with students from various Japanese elementary schools involved in the program. Jasmine was given someone by the name of "Doppo Kunikida" or 國木田 獨歩 as his name was written on her assignment requirements sheet. Dudley's penpal, on the other hand, was "Ranpo Edogawa" or 江戸川 乱歩.

According to their teacher, the cost of mailing letters to a foreign country was completely covered by the program so the students write as many letters to their penpals they want using the special paper, envelop, and stamps they provided.

Despite nearly all of the students showing growing interest in writing to their new penpal, Dudley kicked up a fuss over having to write a simple letter a "stupid foreigner who can't even speak English" for the next three months. As usual, the homework assignment was chucked towards Jasmine's way to do so "their precious Dudley wouldn't have to bother with uncultured Chinamen".

' _Japanese_ ,' Jasmine corrected them inside her head before vindictively adding, ' _Not that you can tell with your beady little eyes… at least they’re a lot bigger than all your brains combined_.'

Despite the fact that she had to do Dudley's homework in addition to her own, she was actually looking forward to the assignment. To be honest, Jasmine was a little nervous about her new penpals. This could be her chance to have friends Dudley can't chase away by his bullying. What would they be like? Would they like her? Would she like them? Once she had quickly finished her meager dinner of a bowl of cold pea soup and glass of water, she immediately searched her ragged knapsack for the papers and took out an old pen.

Now what should she write?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be warned! Updates will be sporadic at best, so please be patient with me.
> 
> But anyways thanks for reading, and please leave behind constructive criticism. (*ﾉω-)


	2. The Letters From No One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First exchanges.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise nor the Bungou Stray Dogs franchise. 
> 
> “Speaking.”  
> ‘Italicized-Thoughts.’  
> Italicized-Letters.

The first letter sent (more like letters on Jasmine's end) was simple. "Hello, how are you."

Jasmine's reply from "Doppo" consisted of an entire page of neat but indecipherable Japanese language. "Ranpo", on the other hand, seemed to be more understanding as he sent her a book on the Japanese writing system and an English-to-Japanese dictionary.

The little girl was overjoyed to receive a gift even if it did come from a stranger from the opposite side of the planet. The only reason her relatives even let her keep the books was because they had no use for "moonspeak" and figured she was too stupid to be able to read them. The language book had a simple message written in kanji on the front cover.

She would later find out what it said after translating. Afterwards, she took back every nice thought she thought about "Ranpo". Turns out, Dudley's penpal was as rude as he is.

_Don't you dare send me anything until you've read the whole thing. I'll burn anything written in English._

She spent the next few days translating "Doppo's" lengthy letter. She found that "Doppo" (now "Kunikida-san" as the book "Edogawa-san" sent said she should address them by) was…very dedicated. He is a boy around her age and is good at math. His father works as a police detective while his mother, a housewife. He collects notebooks, enjoys fishing, and his favorite food is lightly roasted bonito. However, he doesn't like it when things go the way he planned and being told what to do because they haven't earned his respect.

Her second letters was her first attempt at communicating with both penpals in their native language, which mostly consisted of a mess of katakana with some hiragana thrown in as an attempt to make sense to her readers.

In order to prevent confusion on which penpal receives their respective letters, she decided to focus on Kunikida-kun first since he was easier to talk to. Jasmine took the opportunity to fully introduce herself to Kunikida-kun. She included her age, birthday, likes, dislikes, and what little hobbies she was allowed to have (out of all the chores Jasmine had to do for the Dursleys, cooking and gardening will always be her favorite pastimes).

The end result was still rough and the grammar made the young green-eyed girl cringe a little once she reread and rewrote everything, but it was the best she could do at the moment with her limited knowledge of the language. The next day before class, she submitted the envelope to her teacher to be mailed to her original penpal with silent apologies to the recipient.

Now she can focus on the other one, Edogawa-san. Compared to Kunikida-kun, he was more difficult to talk to. Not many people knew this… or rather they didn’t care to know… but Jasmine was very observant for her age. You can tell a lot about someone based on their writing. Not only did the young girl get the impression that he had high expectations towards his assigned penpal, but she also felt that Edogawa-san was the type who didn't bother what he viewed as trivial matters.

Jasmine fervently prayed that Dudley's penpal wouldn't refuse to communicate altogether, otherwise the Dursleys would become angered that she "cheated" because _her_ penpal talked to her while it's all her fault that "Dudley's" penpal didn't even bother getting to know "him."

Jasmine poured in all her prayers as she gave Dudley "his" envelope before class started and watched closely as he carelessly tossed the letter onto their teacher's desk. Hopefully, Edogawa-san would reply soon and is more lenient on her mistakes.

(◎▼◎)

Several days later, Jasmine's prayers were eventually answered when not only did she get another envelope with Kunikida-kun's school address written on it (and in English to boot), but she also received another package containing a textbook on Japanese grammar and punctuation. It also included the letter she wrote to Edogawa-san, only covered in corrections made in bright red marker.

Jasmine simply took the return of the letter as a positive message from him.

Kunikida-kun had replied in a mix of Japanese and broken English. According to the letter, after seeing that she had tried to speak to him in his native language, he was motivated to try his hand at writing out his reply to her in English. He felt it was only right that he do so as well since she took the effort to learn his language and bridge the communication gap between them.

It gave Jasmine a warm feeling in her chest the further she read. The native Japanese boy marveled at how advanced she was in her knowledge of kanji despite her young age when the majority of students older than them still have trouble knowing half of the kanji she used.

It was good enough that he had to ask his parents to help him read her letter. They too were impressed by her intelligence. Children their age barely knew any kanji, yet she, a non-native writer, was able to use it in a legible manner. Her writing was a little rough so Kunikida-kun encouraged Jasmine to continue improving. He also expected her next letter to be better, and in exchange she would expect his next letter to her to be contained entirely of English.

Surprisingly enough, it sparked an unspoken race between the two six year olds to see who would be the first to master their penpal’s native languages.

First, it was the letters themselves. Then, Jasmine took out the dictionary Edogawa-san sent her to make her letters as complicated as possible to her young reader. Kunikida-kun, in turn, began using more sophisticated words and language after mastering grammar and punctuation.

At some point, he ended up writing a whole college essay's worth to Jasmine, so she retaliated by mixing up kanji, hiragana, katakana, even threw in romanji, creating an avant-garde writing style that would later be her recognizable trademark to her friends in the distant future.

Kunikida-kun would frequently complain back in Shakespearean English, claiming she was deliberately trying to give him a headache. Eventually, the two children forgot how their private little contest started and simply moved to further improve their language skills through each other. By the time they reached the double digits in age, they were already bilingual.

In the future, Kunikida-kun would tell her about how he became his high school's unofficial English teacher after driving out the old one when he found that his sensei's skills were severely lacking for an educator. Then there's Jasmine herself.

By the time she reached her teens, she can give the nastiest of insults in pure Japanese to anyone with a sweet smile on her face and a polite tone in her voice, and the best part…no one without a single knowledge of Japanese would be the wiser.

(◎▼◎)

One of the biggest differences between her two penpals was the way six-year-old Jasmine initially approached Edogawa-san as a penpal.

After sending her the book on grammar and punctuation, his next letter requested that she should address him by his given name from now on. Not only was it written in perfect English, but it was also formatted as a proper letter for the first time since little Jasmine first reached out to him. However, as significant as that was, it wasn't what caught her attention. The last part of the letter contained a surprising revelation from her second penpal.

_I imagine my name is a bit of a mouthful for a 6 year old little girl, so as your senpai, I demand from now on you refer to me as such. By the way, could you stop pretending to be your lazy male relative? It's annoying having to mentally correct my little kohai while I'm reading. I could actually use the time wasted to do something more important, you know?_

' _How did he know? I thought I made sure he wouldn't know I'm not actually Dudley._ ' Jasmine thought as she read and reread that one paragraph over and over again hoping it was just a translation issue or something. For Edogawa-san, (' _Ranpo-senpai_ ,' she corrected herself mentally.) Jasmine had made sure to mimic Dudley's chicken-scratch handwriting and misspelled his words multiple times. She would even a few sheets of paper whenever she forgot to also neglect proper grammar.

Jasmine was so unnerved about Ranpo-senpai that she didn't reply to him for an entire week. Eventually she finally summoned the courage to write out a letter to him. This time as herself. At this point, her kanji were much better now to the point where she can entirely use basic kanji to communicate conversely on paper. The little six-year-old mentally prepared herself and she began to write out her first introduction to Ranpo-senpai as "Jasmine Potter".

A few days later, Ranpo-senpai replied to her by explaining his ability to deduce her true identity.

"Dudley's" handwriting, upon closer inspection, was purposefully messy, meaning the writer's actually handwriting was originally much neater. In addition, the writing style immediately gave away the gender of his "true" penpal, and since "Dudley" was obviously a boy's name, it's safe to assume that the writer is female. The approximate age can be found by the handwriting and grammar skills, which suggests a young but intelligent child at work.

Despite all this, it also implied that the writer is actually doing the assignment for "Dudley", and it also meant that they would be most likely living in the same house as the writer had to be close enough to "Dudley" to know how his handwriting and writing style looks like enough to mimic it. The amount of pressure she put on her pen to write out the letters helps indicate the writer was under more stress than one would had if it had been with their true penpal, and the source of that stress can safely eliminate "first impressions" as it was consistent throughout all the letters sent to Ranpo-senpai.

This meant the writer is forced to do the assignment. Judging by the ease of the mimicry, it's safe to assume that it's a common occurrence in the writer's household. As these factors combined lead to the conclusion that Ranpo-senpai's penpal is a young six-year-old girl being forced to do her male relative's homework for him.

Needless to say, Jasmine was utterly shocked by the amount of thought Ranpo-senpai put into figuring out his penpal's identity. Her previous discomfort transitioned into admiration for her second penpal. The day after Ranpo-senpai's letter, she immediately sent back a reply to him. This time, she expressed a desire to know more about him as a proper friend should.

From that point on, Ranpo-senpai began writing to her more frequently and their relationship as further improved with each letter. Jasmine would later introduce her "secondary" penpals to both Kunikida-kun and Ranpo-senpai. In addition, she explained the reason why she had two penpals in the program instead of one. Kunikida-kun would later throw a fit in his letter over the unfairness of her situation. He would rant on and on about how the Dursleys are not the normal (read: ideal) family they think they are.

Ranpo-senpai, on the other hand, said he didn't care about the other penpal and didn't want to put in the effort of getting to know the other boy. He later teased her that that she was "cheating on him" with another penpal. Jasmine, in a flustered fit, wrote out an exasperated reply using all the insults he had taught her throughout their correspondence. She would later receive from him a handwritten copy of a poem about friendship. It was safe to say this was his way of expressing how proud he was of her (though she was suspicious about the water damage on the paper. Was Ranpo-senpai crying tears of joy?).

In the future, once someone had the sense to translate Jasmine's "compliments", upon finding out what they really mean, they would look at her in horror and wonder where she even picked up that kind of language. Meanwhile, Jasmine would smile serenely as she mentally thanks Ranpo-senpai for his "lessons" in "conversational Japanese".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was a lengthy chapter. By the way, the poem Ranpo copied for Jasmine was Friendship by Henry David Thoreau, in case anyone was wondering. I hoped I got Kunikida and Ranpo's personalities spot on. Please tell me if the way they interacted with Jasmine seemed a bit OOC. 
> 
> Headcanon: Since Kunikida was a former math teacher at 22 years old, I imagine that he got his teaching degree pretty early in order for the BSD!timeline to work out. So I made it that he ran off his high school teacher with his intense personality and took his place teaching English to his schoolmates. His methods were so successful that it caught a university’s attention, and they allowed him to work for his credentials for math while he’s still in high school. I had researched that Japanese schools don’t have substitute teachers and if a teacher took a sick day or whatever, the students essentially have a free period to do whatever.
> 
> Edited (7/13/17) (・ωｰ)


	3. Owl Post

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timeskip~5 years later
> 
> Ages:  
> Jasmine-11 years old as of July 31  
> Kunikida-11 years old as of August 30  
> Ranpo-15 years old as of October 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any franchise published by Scholastic nor Yen Press.  
> “Speaking.”  
> ‘Italicized-Thoughts.’  
> Italicized-Letters.

As time went on, the penpal trio would communicate back and forth frequently over the years.

Even after the penpal program ended, Jasmine still sent letters to her Japanese friends, going as far as to beg her school’s teacher for any leftover materials to keep in touch. The local librarian caught on to her activities and took pity on the lonely black-haired child, so she helped out Jasmine by buying her letter supplies out of her own pocket and showed her the way to the post office to mail the letters. And the timing couldn’t be any better as what little Jasmine could scrounge up barely lasted another half year.

While she can still keep in touch with Ranpo-senpai and Kunikida-kun, her replies came less frequently as all three would have liked. After all, the Dursley kept her busy by dropping as many chores they thought they could get away with forcing a child to do. Trying to keep her relatives from finding out about her newfound secret was a challenge by itself. Jasmine lost count on how many times she came so close to getting caught whenever Dudley and his friends ambushed her on her way to the post office. Then there was that one instance where Petunia saw her niece hiding a couple of envelopes within the folds of her oversized clothing while she was cooking breakfast (luckily the horse-faced woman wrote it off as Dudley’s finished homework as her too-worn knapsack had torn the other day and Vernon couldn’t be bothered to get a new one for Jasmine).

Frankly, it’s been a miracle that no one in the entire household has realized what she’s been up to under their noses!

(◎▼◎)

Even though they’ve never written to one another before, there was something of an unspoken agreement between one Kunikida Doppo and Edogawa Ranpo. For the most part, the two boys were only friends with Jasmine (or JK-chan, a nickname that Ranpo-senpai bestowed upon their mutual friend after he learned about her middle name, Katherine). While they did knew of each other through JK-chan’s frequent mentions of “Kunikida-kun” and “Ranpo-senpai”, neither boy had felt the need to communicate to one another.

One day shortly after Kunikida-kun’s eleventh birthday, JK-chan suddenly stopped replying. For the two weeks, the boys thought JK-chan was unable to reply because she was punished for doing something out of the ordinary as usual. Then another week had passed. And then another week. The weeks then turned into a whole month. Something was very, very wrong. JK-chan had never taken this long to write back. It wasn’t until nearly a couple days before Christmas that they finally had an explanation on what was happening on their penpal’s end.

(◎▼◎)

Iwakuni is a city in the Yamaguchi Prefecture of Japan, and the hometown of Kunikida Doppo. Since the beginning of November, the dirty blond’s stress had been increasing more and more with each passing day without a single piece of paper that would confirm his foreign penpal’s well-being. It got to the point where his concern rubbed off on his family. Even his teachers and classmates began taking notice of his unusual behavior as of late but had mistakenly thought it was the end of the year excitement for the holidays.

Just two weeks ago, he had begged his parents if there was anything they could do to help JK-chan but became disappointed when they explained, “No, we can’t. Your friend is in another country. No one can do anything for her.” They managed to temporarily placate his fears saying she might have had a bad year.

“Girl problems.” His mother explained at the dinner table one evening. “Come to think of it, JK-chan is the same age as Doppo-chan, so the timing should be just about right.”

“Girl problems? But what do you mean by that, Okaa-san? How does how old JK-chan is have anything to do with-“

“Uuuhhh! It’s getting late! We should all turn in for the night! After all, don’t you still have to practice your English, son?” His father suddenly interrupted Kunikida’s question.

“But, Otou-san, I’m already at the top of my _whole year_ in that subject area!” Kunikida pointed out.

“But are you at the top of your _whole school_? How about the whole district? Or even the whole city? There’s always room for improvement. Now go to your room and study… _now, please_.” The man said frantically, leaving his child confused over his father’s odd behavior as he left the table.

Kunikida would later find out about “puberty” a few years after, and the same awkwardness would remind him of that day. He would then congratulate his father for narrowly avoiding scarring his younger self with the “The Talk” once he got over the embarrassment.

(◎▼◎)

In the afternoon of the twentieth of December, an eleven year old Japanese boy entered his room in a restless mood. He had just checked his mailbox for any sign of JK-chan’s unique handwriting only to come up empty. He had been doing this almost religiously since the middle of October, and his patience was running thin.

Slamming his school bag onto his bed, he tore it open to retrieve his favorite pen and notebook and proceeded to write furiously about his agitation.

Before he knew it, he had already filled out a page and a half. Suddenly Kunikida’s writing was interrupted by a rhythmic tapping noise coming from outside his bedroom window. Putting down his pen and closing his notebook, the boy moved towards the window and opened it to look outside only to find a beautiful white owl sitting on a tree branch right near his room.

The owl had what appeared to be two letters tied to its legs. Gracefully it stretched out its left leg towards Kunikida. For a while, the young boy stared owlishly (pun intended) at the large avian until it gave him a reproachful bark. It then shook its offered limb impatiently with a meaningful glare aimed at him, signaling that it wanted him to take its delivery. Snapping out of his shock, he immediately scrambled towards the pale bird and nearly fell out of his room in his attempt to quickly receive his mail from the elegant owl. The bird of prey then let out a satisfied noise as Kunikida carefully untied the letter from its leg. Once the envelope was in his hands, it then took off and flew away from his house before Kunikida got the chance to do anything else.

The child with dirty-blond hair stared at the flying owl in confusion until its form finally disappeared into the sky. He then turned his attention to the letter in his hands and flipped it over to the front and saw the familiar writing style of JK-chan’s signature. Without hesitation, he ripped apart the envelope, grabbed its contents, opened it up, and proceeded to read the lengthy five page overdue letter.

_Dear Kunikida-kun,_

_I’m so sorry for taking so long to reply. September was a busy month for me because I just got accepted into this exclusive boarding school my parents had attended when they were my age. The problem was that it was a bit old fashioned. You could probably tell by now because of the parchment. All the students use it._

(‘ _I thought the paper seemed a little weird_.’ Kunikida thought, momentarily pausing to examine the paper more closely. ‘ _I wonder if she can get me a whole notebook of these. Parchment is pretty expensive after all. Not to mention she owes me for giving me grey hairs before I’m even a teenager!_ ’)

_The school is also in a remote location so we don’t even have electricity running, and the nearest post office is a whole train ride away. Instead, we use owls as messenger birds to deliver our mail. However, I needed to get permission to use Hedwig to deliver my mail to you._

_Before you ask, Hedwig is my pet owl. She’s a birthday present from one of the school staff who knew my parents. Speaking of, turns out my relatives have been lying to me about them all this time. They weren’t “worthless, good-for-nothing drunks and whores who got themselves killed.” Instead they were good people. My dad was a rich lord and my mum was an intelligent and capable woman. They were pretty famous in the community my school belonged to. They’ve even left me an inheritance which completely covered my education and still have left over, so I don’t have to worry about poverty after not getting a job straight out of graduation._

_Before I get off topic, I need to tell you why I need permission to use Hedwig sooner. Over here, it’s against the rules to send the post owls to another country without it. Considering you and Ranpo-senpai are in Japan, I’d be breaking the rules if I had sent Hedwig he first chance I got. I needed to talk to my professors for help getting Hedwig cleared in the proper channels. As you can see it took a while. So those are the reasons why I never got the chance to reply back to your last letter up until the winter holidays._

_I hope I didn’t worry you too much. By the way, from now on you can expect Hedwig to visit more often. Though to be honest, I don’t know how long it would take her to get to you. I did tell her not to exhaust herself, but I can’t help but worry about her health. My professors had assured me that Hedwig can handle the long flight, but I just wanted to be sure._

_If it’s not too much trouble, could you do me a favor and insist that she stays and rest for a while if she seems a bit peaky? Her favorite food is bacon, by the way, in case you’re wondering what to feed her. Otherwise, she can hunt on her own_.

JK-chan’s letter continued on after that. She then described her new school, her professors, and her schoolmates. She also told him that she was sorted into one of the four houses that separated the students based on personality. JK-chan went into a house named, “Gryffindor”, which represented courage, chivalry, and determination with the mascot being a lion. She also had dedicated an entire page on her chemistry professor, Professor Severus Snape.

Snape-sensei was initially antagonistic towards her in the first few classes. During those times, the young girl took note that he treated her much more harshly compared to other students, even though it was clear that he favored his house, the Slytherins, more than her house. At the same time, he would off-handedly mention how she was “just like her arrogant father,” which led to her concluding that the man personally knows her father but in a negative light and most likely familiar with her mother at the least (Kunikida wondered if Ranpo-senpai would be proud of his kohai for her developing deductive skill).

Wanting more information about her late parents, she took the opportunity to confront Snape-sensei during a detention with him. At first, he was resistant in telling her anything. The conversation then escalated into a shouting match between student and teacher when his penpal stubbornly refused to drop the matter. The argument went into an ugly turn until she had accused the irritable professor of hating her mother as well in a fit of frustration. The answer she got was shocking.

Her chemistry professor violently denied her accusations with a resounding, “NEVER!!! I LOVED HER MORE THAN ANYTHING!!!” Both parties went silent and stared at each other for several minutes in shock. JK-chan then took the opportunity to leave without the Snape-sensei dismissing her and didn’t look back, leaving a frozen man behind in the empty classroom.

The next class was awkward between them as both professor and student pretty much ignored the presence of the other. Needless to say, JK-chan had dreaded going to detention that evening, but once again, Snape-sensei didn’t fail to surprise her. The moment she entered his classroom he dumped a small stack papers dumped in front of her and then walked out of the room, leaving his student behind without an explanation.

After snapping out of her confusion, JK-chan proceeded to examine the papers only to see that they were photos. To be exact, photos of her mother back when she was still a student at the school….along with a younger and smiling Snape-sensei, who used to be close friends with her.

While the harsh criticism towards his penpal still continued in from that point on, there was an understanding of subtle respect between them. They may not like each other, but they can tolerate the other at an extent.

(◎▼◎)

Kunikida whistled merrily as he sauntered into the dining room and sat down at the table with his father as his mother brought out his favorite food for dinner. Noticing his uplifting mood, the couple wondered what had happened in his room that made their son so carefree after weeks of brooding over his foreign female friend.

“Doppo-chan, what’s gotten into you? You seem so… so exuberant.” His mother said as they began to eat.

Kunikida perked up and began telling his parents all about what’s been happening with his friend. “I just received a letter from JK-chan! She’s at a boarding school now! They don’t have a post office nearby so they use owls instead! Like messenger birds! She told me she’s fine and that there’s this one instance…”

As the boy talked throughout their dinner about all the details his penpal just wrote him, both mother and father couldn’t help but feel relieved that their son’s friend in England was doing just fine. As a police officer, Kunikida’s father has dealt with cases involving various degrees of child abuse. From what his son had told him and what the girl’s letters imply, he knew that JK-chan wasn’t in an ideal family situation. In fact, her maternal relatives were neglectful at best, emotionally abusive at worst. When the little girl suddenly ceased contact with his only child, he began thinking the worst had befallen her the longer the hiatus went on. Thankfully, his gut was wrong and it hadn’t come to that outcome.

The evening ended with Kunikida asking his parents if it’s alright to temporarily house a messenger owl in their house whenever JK-chan’s Hedwig came to drop off his mail. At first, they weren’t too sure having a large bird of prey in their home even if it’s for a day or two, but one look at their son’s hopeful eyes, and they caved. Perhaps it would be cruel to force a tired owl to travel elsewhere without rest after traveling so far to deliver their son’s letter.

(◎▼◎)

When Hedwig came to the Kunikida household one early January, she was pleasantly surprised by the well-crafted perch installed right near the young boy’s bedroom window. As she settled down onto her new resting place like a queen on her throne, the snowy owl thought that her Mistress had thoughtful friends.

She then heard the window opened near her and was greeted with the familiar delicious scent coming from a plate on top of the boy’s writing desk. It was undoubtedly the most delectable human foodstuff to ever exist! BACON!

In an instant, she was already on the desk devouring the tasty morsels. The letter already opened and being read by its recipient. The boy with dirty blond hair was gently running his fingers in her soft feathers as he read his latest message from his longtime penpal. Despite the fact, Hedwig had barely even met him, the child was expertly stroking the areas that turned the proud avian into a puddle of feathery goo.

First a perch, then bacon, and finally an amazing petting session. Hedwig’s Mistress’s had excellent choice of foreign friends indeed!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter done! I am on a roll! Next is what’s been happening with Ranpo! But that one will take a lot of work to do so please don’t lynch me if it doesn’t come out as soon as you want. It’s just me trying to cover all my bases since as much as I love him and all, with Ranpo’s personality and backstory, he’s much trickier for me to write. I have been on the hunt for information from both canons and incorporating them into this fic, which is easier said than done.
> 
> As you can see, I took some liberty constructing the childhood years of our Chibi!Lone Poet and Chibi!Super Deducer. For Kunikida, I took inspiration from his namesake since there wasn’t much about his background other than that he was a math teacher prior to the Armed Detective Agency.
> 
> Did you know that snowy owls can fly about 30 mi/hr (or 48 km/hr) but can go as fast as 50 mi/hr (or 80 km/hr)? And since the distance is 5845 mi (or 9407 km) from England to Japan, I used these findings to do my math. Dividing the distance with the highest speed would get me around 117 hrs. So let’s estimate and say 120 hrs and convert it into days. You’d get 5 days. Assuming Hedwig can fly at the highest speed, she’ll probably take 10 days getting from one end of the planet to the other end (and I am including breaks for our favorite girl).
> 
> Jasmine’s relationship with Snape: The only thing that I changed is that he treats her marginally better than Canon!Harry. I have a headcanon that if Harry were to be born a girl, even with taking more after her father, he would have ease up on his abuse towards a little. But just a little. It’s mostly because it would have been hard for him to look at a Fem!Harry and not notice she’s basically like a Chibi!James in drag, unlike Canon!Harry, who is a dead ringer for James but with Lily’s green eyes. The main reason for this headcanon: I just thought it would be hilarious over the thought of Snape’s arch-nemesis crossdressing is the key to Harry getting Snape off his back for a while.
> 
> Shoutout to all the people who've read and liked my story. I also really appreciate the kudos you've given me.   
> Edited (5/30/17)＼（ＴvＴ）／


	4. Owl Post Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranpo's POV this time...
> 
> And moar headcanons~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any novel/manga series published by Bloomsbury Publishing nor by Kadokawa Shoten.  
> “Speaking.”  
> ‘Italicized-Thoughts.’

Fifteen year old Edogawa Ranpo was going through a rough year. Not only had his parents died on a job gone wrong, leaving him orphaned and without any support, his perspective of the world began to crumble as he began to realize that compared to anyone around him he wasn’t normal.

After all, what teenager can tell what illicit activities his class president had been up to behind his parent’s back with only a glance? What teenager can tell immediately that the social worker in charge of his case was involved in an extra marital affair with her boss despite never seeing either person before? And most importantly, what senpai is not worried about his British kohai being in danger despite the fact she stopped sending him letters?

He knew that JK-chan was fine since his “power” told him that she’s neither a victim nor is she involved in any crime. When had August rolled around, there was no sign of his usual letter from his penpal. While he would refuse to admit it until his deathbed, Ranpo did panic a little over JK-chan’s well-being and activated Super Deduction in hopes of getting the answers he needed. Up until that point, he wasn’t sure if his ability could be used in that way. When he realized he can’t register JK-chan using his ability, he took comfort in the implications his Super Deduction provided.

Therefore, it’s safe for him to remain calm and simply be patience towards his little kohai. Not just that, he knew that JK-chan isn’t the type to suddenly forget her friends because something new dropped into her life. The logical reasoning made the “waiting game” much easier to handle on his mentality.

(◎▼◎)

“You seem to be expecting something to happen soon…or should I say _someone_?” Fukuzawa said, referring to his foster son’s British penpal. After taking the teenager and founding the Armed Detective Agency for his sake, he became aware of this “JK-chan”. The former mercenary thought it was cute how the self-proclaimed “Super Detective” interacted with his female (and sadly, only) friend.

“My little kohai is taking her sweet time writing! I’m going to scold her when she finally writes back!” Ranpo whined to his legal guardian. He spun around in his spinning chair restlessly as he munched on a handful of pocky. Several empty boxes were already strewn across his office desk along with other remains of various sweets. Judging from the sheer amount, the older man figured his charge must be stress eating.

“…Have you ever thought that your JK-chan is no longer able to continue being penpals? Perhaps she believes that writing to a penpal is childish. Not to mention how expensive it is to send a letter overseas.” The older man cautiously pointed out. If what he had read between the lines from Ranpo’s past letters was correct, young JK-chan may eventually face a far difficult time in the future. Fukuzawa honestly prayed that wouldn’t be the case for the young girl.

“I know all that. But JK-chan isn’t that type. Plus I know it takes time for her get even a short letter to me. Plus she’s not _just_ writing to me as well, you know.” Ranpo said.

“Ah, that’s right. Kunikida-kun, is it? Speaking of, I’ve looked into him. Apparently, he’s also an ability user. A newly manifested one as well. I’m thinking of having him join the agency.”

“Isn’t he 11 years old though?” The teenager paused in his spinning and turned to look at his foster father with a serious expression on his face.

“It doesn’t matter. Sooner or later he’ll be targeted just for being an ability user. It’s better to claim him now so he can be taught to control his ability.” Since abilities typically manifest around early to late adolescent years, various underground organizations would snap up their recruits as soon as they appear. The younger, the better. Not only to instill loyalty, but also to make it more difficult for them to leave in the long run.

“Hmmmm, not only will we get someone to do all the troublesome paperwork, but we can cut down the trouble of sending 2 letters here for JK-chan in the process… Alright, it’s settled! JK-chan had better thank me for my generosity next time. So when will you go pick him up?” Ranpo said, his carefree tone back.

“I’ll be speaking with his parents next week. You may come and meet Kunikida-kun if you wish.” Fukuzawa said.

Ranpo was about to refuse the suggestion only for his protests to die in his throat upon seeing the look his caretaker gave him. The glare in the martial artist’s eyes left no room for protest. ‘ _You had better come and socialize with your future co-worker,_ ’ was the silent message. Pouting slightly, he mumbled an affirmative at his guardian.

Satisfied of his ward’s begrudging acceptance, he turned and left the office. Taking out a file from his sleeve, he reread the information he received on his future subordinate.

Hmm…Kunikida Doppo. The boy has potential if given the right training.

(◎▼◎)

As usual, his Super Deduction ability was never wrong. However his prediction came true in a way he didn’t expect.

Early in the morning of December 21st, one Edogawa Ranpo found himself face to beak with a snowy owl perched on top of the railing outside his apartment door whose leg was extended to his direction as if wanting him to take its burden. Judging from the letter tied to its outstretched leg it’s a courier bird of sorts. The situation became all more and more interesting as owls aren’t exactly a popular choice for messenger birds.

He carefully reached out and deftly untied the letter from the bird. Letting it fly away from him once the avian’s purpose was fulfilled. Deciding to read his mail at a later time, he tucked it away within the pocket of his school uniform and then left for school. He’ll read it during class. It’s not like the senseis can actually teach him anything.

(◎▼◎)

It was a quiet day at the agency. Fukuzawa was currently catching up on some paperwork. To anyone else watching, it looked like the stoic founder of the Armed Detective Agency was hard at work. An example to be followed by his subordinates.

However, in actuality, the martial artist was completely bored out of his mind.

Let’s face it, no one with a soul liked doing paperwork. Right now, the man with the ability, All Men Are Equal, just wanted to sit back with a pot of tea and a cat on his lap. Hell, he’ll even take fighting against Mori Ougai at this moment. And lo and behold! His prayers have been answered as he heard running footsteps approaching his office door.

“YO, DIRECTOR!!! GET YOUR WALLET!! I WANT TO HIT THAT NEW CAFÉ THAT JUST OPENED UP THE NEXT BLOCK OVER!!” Ranpo yelled as he burst through the door, grinning like a maniac.

“…Ranpo…did something good happen at school?” The former mercenary asked his adopted child. He wondered what could have caused him to be in such high spirits when the teen was normally this way while solving an interesting case.

“As if! JK-chan got into a super-special academy. As in ‘You can only get in if you’re special’ _special_. My genius has rubbed off on my kohai~. It’s all thanks to me that such an exclusive school noticed her~. Of course we need to celebrate!” Ranpo was practically vibrating with excitement over her latest letter to him. While a large part of him simply wanted an excuse to try out the menu items of the café, there was a small part that was relieved and happy to hear from his little penpal.

“…What is the name of the café then?” Fukuzawa asked, putting down his pen and got up to join his foster son. Finally, just the break he needed! Plus it would be a good way to spend some father-son time together for once.

(◎▼◎)

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“Ranpo, what is that?” Fukuzawa asked his charge, eyeing the snow white owl currently nesting on his unkempt dark hair.

“Huh?” Ranpo looked slightly up, being mindful of the owl on his head. From her perch, Hedwig stared down at him straight in the eye with her amber gaze. “Oh, this is Hedwig-chan. JK-chan’s courier bird. Don’t let her looks fool you. She looks male, but she’s actually a girl.” The teen shuddered as he remembered the last and only time he mistaken her gender. And it was barely an hour ago. ‘ _I definitely learned that the hard way._ ’ Hedwig was so pissed off that she pecked and screeched at him, refusing to let up until he acknowledged his error. Thankfully, they made up afterwards which is how they got to this point in the first place.

“…She is quite a beauty.” The older man complimented the avian. This made the bird puff up her chest feathers in pride.

“By the way, do you know what girls like for Christmas?” Ranpo asked his legal guardian, changing the subject.

“Isn’t JK-chan a bit young to be your girlfriend? Not to mention the long distance relationship alone…” Now that Fukuzawa thought about it, Ranpo is at that age now. He is a teenage boy after all.

Suddenly, a thought hit the company president as he paled in horror. Oh, dear Kami-sama! If Ranpo turned out to be another Mori Ougai in the making, he won’t hesitate to disown him the spot, consequences be damned!

“WHAT? NO! Absolutely not! Maybe if she was 5 years older, like around my age, I _might_ consider it! Emphasis on the _MIGHT_! For your information, Christmas over in England is way different from Christmas over here. It’s all about Santa and presents while we have lovers and KFC. Also have you forgotten that, it’s _already past New Year’s_?!!!” Ranpo violently denied with disgust.

Frankly, it was a horrifying thought to think of JK-chan in that way. Firstly, his little kohai was four years younger than him. He was pretty sure he wasn’t a lolicon. Plus, she would have found it creepy for a teenage boy to be pining over a prepubescent girl. And second, his friend isn’t even the least bit interested in romance because she was too mature to fall into the same trap like most girls her age and older. Third, even if column A and B are false, he would be one of the the last person she would consider a romantic love interest. Surely there were far better options and eye candy to go around at her school.

“Then why did you ask about Christmas presents?” The older man asked his ward. He was not ashamed to admit that he was relieved that his son in all but blood turned out to be not a budding pedophile.

“It’s a late one… And I need to make up for New Year’s as well. JK-chan would always send me sweets from her homeland whenever Christmas comes around. But this year, she made up for missing her usual due date by sending me some really crazy stuff from her community. Look! I’m eating something called a Cockroach Cluster!” He held up a package containing what looked like nuts fashioned into the shape of the insect.

“Ah…that explains the wrapping paper on your desk.” Out of curiosity, Fukuzawa selected a small box from the pile to examine it. Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans. What do they mean by “A Risk with Every Mouthful”?

“So what should I get for JK-chan? It can’t be anything too heavy for Hedwig-chan to carry back. I’d get her flowers, but they’ll just wilt during the trip. Plus I don’t want to be mistaken as a secret admirer or anything by her friends so nothing expensive.” As he moved his head around while speaking, the teen felt Hedwig’s weight shift to adjust herself from her perch on top his head. Right then and there, a crazy thought hit Ranpo as he slowly turned his gaze up at the bird on his head with a speculative look. “Maybe we should let Hedwig-chan here help out? JK-chan is her owner.”

“…We are letting an owl chose your present?” When he put it that way, it does sound like an eccentric plan.

“Do you have a better idea?” Admittedly, no. The older man was just as lost as his foster son. Well, it can’t hurt to try. After all, it’s not like whatever the owl chose would start a revolution or something?

(◎▼◎)

“Hey, Jasmine, what are these?” A young red-haired boy named Ron Weasely asked her, pointing to the basket covered by clear basket on the Gryffindor common room table. It was half open, revealing its contents to be a colorful variety of food items.

“They’re Japanese candy and snacks! Ranpo-senpai sent me these as a thank you gift for the late Christmas present.” Jasmine told him excitedly. She had taken a bag of kappa ebisen and was happily savoring the shrimp flavored crackers.

“Oh, well that explains why you were so picky during Halloween.” Ron said. During the Halloween feast, Jasmine was looking around the table and selectively choosing the various candies served that night, but she didn’t eat any of them, only bundled the lot of them in several handkerchiefs and was planning on bringing them up to her dorm room.

Then the troll attack happened and the witch had no choice but to store them in pocket of her robes. Frankly, he was surprised that some of the sweets had survived the abuse they took during the conflict. His friend had started off with roughly five pounds of cakes and candy stashed on her person, but by the end of the day, only a pound of them were even considered fit to send as presents. During Christmas, she saved all the wrapping paper so she could reuse them to send the candies she saved for her penpals once Hedwig was cleared for international delivery. Despite how rough the package looked, he hoped the Japanese bloke appreciated Jasmine’s efforts. Apparently, he did judging by the gift basket he sent through Hedwig.

“Jasmine, what are these, and how do you open them?” Hermione, the only other female of the Golden Trio, asked her friend. In her hand was what appeared to be an oddly shaped bottle of soda. Despite being entirely in Japanese, the color and the image imprinted covering suggested that the flavor of the drink was strawberry.

“Those are called ramune. They’re basically Japanese fizzy drinks. You just take the cap and use it to push in the marble. Like so.” In one experienced move, Jasmine then proceeded to demonstrate to her friends by doing exactly as she said. The emerald-eyed witch then took two bottles from the basket and handed them to Ron and Hermione so they can try for themselves. She casually sipped at her drink as she coached them step by step on opening the bottles. Once they did, the two enjoyed a taste of a popular Japanese commodity.

“Hey, mate. How do you get the marble out afterwards?” Ron asked, eyeing the glass sphere lodged inside the neck of his now empty bottle of grape ramune. He rattled the bottle a little and turned it upside down, trying to figure out how a way to get the small object out.

“I just break the bottles. If you like I can make them into a necklace for you. I just need a bit of string though.” It was an idea that Kunikida-kun brought up after seeing a couple of his female classmates wearing ones made with jewelry wire. He even went ahead and researched the ideal look and technique for her so she could create her own.

“Oooooh, will you? They’re so pretty. I know we can change the color of the string so it’ll look even better or something. It shouldn’t be too much trouble though.” Hermione said. The Colour Change Charm is an easy enough spell to master.

Later that night, when Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil saw their dormmates, Jasmine and Hermione, sporting beautiful glass marble necklaces, they too wanted one of their own. The next morning, all four girls wore their necklaces to class. This set off a stir in the female student population as everyone wanted to know where they got their unique necklaces.

This inspired Jasmine to make use of her ramune marble collection she got from Ranpo-senpai over the years. Selling at only a sickle a piece, the young witch created a new fashion trend. Even the girls in Slytherin couldn’t resist participating, not even the Muggle origins of the necklaces ruined the appeal. It eventually got to the point where even the professors followed their students’ latest fashion craze.

Jasmine was surprised when she was approached by Professor McGonagall after class one day asking if she is able to make custom made necklaces. During dinner that evening, McGonagall shocked all her students when they noticed their strict Transfiguration professor was wearing a broach version of the necklaces. As a result, it kickstarted a brand new frenzy among the student population of Hogwarts.

Demands for custom made marble jewelry were at an all time high. Jasmine ended up charging an extra five sickles to transfigure a basic necklace into the owner’s preferences. More depending on if the design was complicated, like Trelawney who spent a total of three galleons on a mass of ramune-marbles-turned-bead-necklace which she wore it around like expensive pearls.

Even their headmaster, Dumbledore was on the trend when he showed up during breakfast one day sporting a long chain of the glass orbs wrapped around his long beard.

As for Jasmine, well, she secretly got a patent on her creation in the European Wizarding World. Years after the hype of the ramune necklaces gradually faded from Hogwarts, its popularity would make a sudden comeback in a new prank shop by the name of Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: I love Ranpo as a character and all…but he’s just so difficult to write! He’s even an adorable piece of shit here just like in the canon!
> 
> Headcanon 1: Fukuzawa took in Ranpo as his foster son after the incident where he saved him from being kidnapped by a murderer Ranpo was tracking down. Since Ranpo was only a teenager at the time and recently orphaned (which was why he was job hunting when he first met Fukuzawa through his client’s murder), he got full custody over him. Years of looking after Ranpo led him to develop Papa!Fuku instincts later on. Hence why he allowed Kyouka in the ADA as his “granddaughter”.
> 
> Headcanon 2: To be honest, there’s not much on ability users as a whole. When do the abilities manifest is the biggest question for me. So from what I can infer after reading the manga and watching the anime, they can come pretty young. I mean, just look at Q! The kid is 13! Freaking 13 by the time we’re introduced to him! And if he’s been locked up for years by Dazai because of the massive death count his Dogra Magra causes, it must have manifested when he was 9 or younger considering Dazai was there when Port Mafia sealed him up. Also, 18 year old Atsushi’s Beast Beneath the Moonlight, on the other hand, must have manifested relatively recently by the start of the canon if the reports of his rampaging tiger form can speak for itself. So I believe that there is a grace period where the average ability user-to-be can their ability to manifest. And it’s a safe bet! Let’s face it, all of the abilities would take years to master. Looking at it this way, Fukuzawa’s All Men Are Equal is the ultimate shortcut in mastering your ability! With it, the time spent to train how to fully utilize your ability could be cut down to a mere fraction if Atsushi and Kyouka are examples of its usefulness. Though that might be the MC! and BestGirl!Perks talking.
> 
> About Christmas: In Japan, Christmas is normally geared towards couples, kinda like how we celebrate Valentine’s Day in the USA and the UK. During this time of year, people will eat fried chicken so restaurants like KFC will be packed.
> 
> Snacks mentioned: pocky (biscuit sticks covered in a coating of chocolate; it also comes in other coating varieties like strawberry, green tea, almond, milk, coconut, etc.), kappa ebisen (crunchy, shrimp flavored, deep fried crackers that look like French fries), ramune (Japanese carbonated soft drink well known for their distinctive marble sealed bottles)
> 
> Edited (6/19/17)


	5. The Parting of the Ways

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, she hoped her Japanese friends would appreciate the surprise. She looked forward in seeing their faces once they see that their JK-chan is in town and here to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: If I actually owned any of the series, I wouldn’t be writing fanfiction.

(Year: 2007)

In the aftermath of the Second Wizarding War, chaos reigned all across the British Wizarding World. The Ministry was in shambles. Death Eaters still roam about. Gringotts was in lockdown. It was absolute hysteria.

Within the anarchy, Kingsley Shacklebolt was unanimously elected as interim Minister of Magic by the people. His first act was to immediately round up any and all of the remaining Death Eaters left behind from Voldemort’s regime. Alongside his army of aurors, members of the Hogwarts’ Defense Association were key figures in helping out in subduing and arresting the criminals.

By the time they have all of Voldemort’s supporters in custody, Kingsley was already working on another agenda that will eventually Magical England out of its Dark Ages.

Once the dust settled, plans were made among the surviving participants of the war. Many Hogwarts students who were forced to drop out or had their education interrupted were welcomed back for their “Eighth Year” once the school was up and running. Others wanted to spend time with their friends and families. Too many close calls have made them realized their appreciation for their loved ones. For those who aren’t so lucky to find the people closest to them intact, funeral arrangements were made and patients poured into St. Mungo’s, filling up all the empty beds in every ward.

However, there was one witch who managed to apparate back to 12 Grimmauld Place. Despite her exhaustion, she summoned enough strength to make her way into her late godfather’s study and got out a pen and some parchment.

As she wrote, she realized she hadn’t used her familiar script for nearly a year. She penned out a confirmation of her status as well as her apologies and went on to explain what has happened since her last missive. Once she finally sealed the envelope, the emotional and physical aftereffects of the Battle of Hogwarts caught up to her as she gave into her body’s demand for rest.

Later in the day, an elderly house elf named Kreacher will find his new mistress passed out on the desk. Using his magic, he levitated his mistress into the master bedroom where she could properly rest. The envelope remained where it was until the next week, where Jasmine retraced her steps to mail her letter via Muggle post office.

She had scoured through all the past letters she saved to search for an address to sent to and eventually found it. Looking back, she hadn’t done this in years, not since she first had Hedwig (Merlin rest her late familiar’s soul). Once she had finally sent the letter to her faraway friends, The-Woman-Who-Conquered left to join in on the celebrations of winning the war. Hopefully, things will look up from now on.

(◎▼◎)

The one thing Jasmine Katherine Potter wanted at the moment is peace and quiet.

Sadly, that wish was just too much for to ask.

One Monday afternoon, she was enjoying her treacle tart with a side of Earl Grey tea. It was a rare day for her because she normally didn’t get to cook for herself. Whenever she did, Kreacher would glare at her with a stare that she thought would’ve made Dementors cry and mumble to himself about his “ungrateful mistress”. Eventually, they came to the agreement that once a month and on special occasions, Jasmine would get the kitchen all to herself and any messes she made were reserved for Kreacher. This appeased the old house elf, and he went about his usual duties in a cheerier mood.

Unfortunately, today wasn’t a relaxing day for Jasmine Potter. Here she was casually eating her snack in the library while piecing together her autobiography under a pseudonym when all of a sudden, her door was kicked down.

In comes a young woman with long wavy dirty-blond hair and large, wide, silvery-blue eyes. Despite the semi-permanent dreamy expression on her face, she had shouted, “CRUMPLE-HORNED SNORKACK!!!!” at the top of her voice like a war cry while pointing at her shell-shocked friend. Now what is Luna Lovegood up to?

Luna then shoved a broken toy car at Jasmine’s chest, forcing the older girl to instinctively take hold of it in her hands. Immediately, she felt a familiar tugging sensation at her navel, making her realize that Luna had given her a portkey!

“Don’t worry, Jasmine. I’ll come back to get rid of your Wrackspurts after I find the Crumple-Horned Snorkack I’ve been searching for~.” Luna singsonged at her as she disappeared to her destination.

Once the trip was over, the confused and disoriented witch found herself in the lobby of St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. What was the expression that Ranpo taught her that perfectly described the situation she was in? Oh, right. Kuso. As the eager Healers dragged her to the examination room, she dropped the swear word left and right while the Mediwizards took her behavior with good nature. No matter what language their patients used, the reaction of being under their tender mercies was practically universal.

(◎▼◎)

If there was one thing practically any sane wizard in the world could agree on, it’s never get in the way of a Mediwizard on a warpath for their patient. Let alone an entire army of them on behalf of the Savior of the British Wizarding World.

Upon examining Jasmine Potter’s condition, the whole hospital was left horrified by the diagnosis. Potion regimens were immediately drawn up, strict quarantines were put into place, and one Mediwitch who specializes in healing rituals went straight to Shacklebolt himself demanding permission to use a highly obscure but needed ritual on the Woman-Who-Conquered in order to remove the lingering aftereffects of Dark Magic (the poor man couldn’t agree faster).

In the end, it took a total of three months for the Healers to finally clear Jasmine. The witch came out of St. Mungo’s looking like a proper young woman still in her teens and less like an emaciated, haggard war veteran in their thirties. During their various treatments, the Healers have discovered that Jasmine’s body completely rejects potions.

“That’s the effect of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack doing its work.” Luna explained to her friend and the Healers while visiting. “I noticed it during my First Year and your Second Year. At first, I wasn’t sure what I saw until it became clear after the Final Battle. That was when it reached full maturity.”

At first, no one understood what the Soul Seer was talking about until Jasmine recalled what happened in the Chamber of Secrets. “Oh. You must mean the basilisk venom and phoenix tears.”

“Basilisk…venom?” Their former schoolmate, Hannah Abbot, a Mediwitch-in-training- asked.

“Remember Second Year where students were being petrified by the ‘Heir of Slytherin’. I actually fought the ‘monster’ that was causing the petrifications. Turns out it was a 1000-year-old basilisk.”

“But then, how did the venom get in-? No… Miss Potter, you got bitten?! How are you still alive?!” One of the Healers in the room shrieked in horror. Everyone’s faces, save Jasmine and Luna, were in various degrees of distress. The thought of such a small child going up going up against a highly dangerous magical creature and nearly dying in the process was too much for some to bear.

“But I’m fine now, everyone. Oh, please don’t look at me like that. Besides, it’s not like you could have known about it when it happened. It’s like Hannah said, I’m still alive, right? Please save your concern for someone who truly needs it more. Also, you’re all forgetting that I also have phoenix tears in me as well. Fawkes…Dumbledore’s phoenix… he cried on the bite in time to save me. So it all worked out in the end.” Jasmine explained to the Healers, hoping that her explanation will placate their worries.

“But then…what should we do if we can’t give you the potions?” A male Healer said as he held up the large box containing the witch’s prescribed potions still in his arms.

“Well, I suppose we stick to spells then.” Another Mediwizard said. He then heard a female cough coming from behind him and added, “And rituals.”

And so, the treatments continued as planned only without the potions.

Sadly, this also meant they couldn’t do completely fix her eyesight as it required her to take a potion. Thankfully, the cleansing ritual not only removed the remaining vestiges of the Horcrux that once resided in her scar, but it also healed the majority of the damage done to her retinas. Jasmine will still need glasses though, but she could now at least make out the faces of people at a relative distance without them.

(◎▼◎)

Kingsley Shacklebolt was in his office doing his paperwork. The amount was immense, reflecting the current state of the Ministry. He would be expecting someone soon over a matter of importance. The door to his office opened and in walked Jasmine Potter.

The interim-Minister looked up and greeted the young witch with familial affection. “Ah, Jasmine. You’re just in time. You’re looking much better since the last I’ve seen you. Come, please a seat. Shall I put on some tea or ring up something for you to eat? The trip back from St. Mungo’s must’ve been exhausting.”

“No, thank you, Kingsley. I’m fine actually. But before we get off topic…why did you call me to meet with you? Had something happened recently?” The girl wondered if there was a dangerous Death Eater they missed that they just located. Not all of Voldemort’s supporters have been taken into custody. Everyone pretty much knew that there are some still in hiding, even with Lucius Malfoy’s information.

“…Straight to the point then. Yes, something did happen. You see, you and I know that the Ministry is in shambles right now. It would take months, if not, years just to get things working again. Especially to the way it _should be_ , not the way it _was_.” The man informed.

“Where are you going with this?” Jasmine asked, a sinking feeling settled down in the pit of her stomach, and it wasn’t indigestion from the food they served in St. Mungo’s.

“…I don’t know how to put this, so I’m going to give it to you straight.” Shacklebolt said. “I need you and the rest of the DA to vacate England altogether.”

“…What? …Why? Kingsley, what’s going on? Please tell me!” The girl pleaded with him to answer her. Worry slowly overtaking her as she began visualizing all sorts of horrific situations to her friends and family that might be happening while she’s stuck in Shacklebolt’s office.

Shacklebolt held up a hand to stop her demands. “Calm down, Jasmine. You’re misunderstanding me. I’m not exiling all of you…I’m just asking…no, _insisting_ …that you all take a nice, long, overdue ‘holiday’ overseas while we sort things out here. You see, some of the Death Eaters we’ve arrested have gotten away. And worst of all, it’s all legal. It would take a while for us to find evidence to put them away properly with the way things are now. And you can guess what they’ll try to do in the meantime.”

“Revenge.” The-Woman-Who-Conquered stated.

“Unfortunately. I know you and many others think that what I am asking is an insult to your efforts in the war. But please try to understand from my perspective. All of you are old enough to be my own children if I ever had any. It’s already bad enough that I and so many of my comrades have to see students younger than you are now die during the war.” Shacklebolt paused briefly out of respect for the fallen souls. “I want to avoid suffering any more losses in the aftermath. This is the only way I could think of.”

“…I…I don’t like it…but I can understand where you’re coming from…” Jasmine thought back to the Battle of Hogwarts. So many students had joined in the battle. So many have died as a result. “How exactly will this plan work anyways? You’re asking us to go oversees away from their reach, but wouldn’t they just follow us?”

“Not if they’re on house arrest under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.” The former Auror pointed out. The Act made it so that the United Kingdom government can hold any terrorist under house arrest without a trial. The best part? It was even enforced in the British Wizarding World as well. “Not only that, I was able to swing in my favor, it’s that I was able to appeal to the International Confederation of Wizards to make it illegal for any Death Eaters to set foot in another country. Anyone with the mark will be immediately arrested on the spot and punished by that country’s standards for terrorists.”

That made her relieved. This will definitely minimize the treat coming after them. Suddenly, a thought came to Jasmine. “Wait, I just remembered! The Malfoys! What will happen to them then?” The witch asked the interim Minister.

She had vouched for the Malfoys for their efforts in turning the tide in the war. Not only did she owe them her gratitude for risking their lives to defy their Dark Lord, but they, in turn, owed her their respect for giving them a second chance. Despite years of animosity during their school days, she and Draco were at a point where they can indulge in some small talk without threatening to curse one another. They may not be friends, let alone on “Christmas cards” terms like Jasmine is with Dudley, but they can tolerate one another to a certain extent.

“I’ve already placed them into protective custody. If you’re worried about his future, don’t worry. Young Draco Malfoy is already planning on being ‘homeschooled’ in his studies to become a potions master. He says he’s in no hurry as he wishes to honor Severus’s record of being the youngest potions master in history.” Shacklebolt reassured her.

“…Alright then…but there’s just one problem that still bothers me…” Jasmine said. “How am I supposed to travel when I don’t have a passport?”

For answer, Shacklebolt merely smiled and reached into his desk and pulled out said passport and gave it to the witch. Well, that was pretty easy.

(◎▼◎)

(Five Years Later)

By now, the current Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt had cleaned up the British Wizarding World. Dementors were eliminated from Azkaban. Corruption within the Wizengamot was finally weeded out. And most of all, the majority of Voldemort’s supporters, Death Eaters and not, were rounded up and given their rightful punishment.

Much to the relief of many, it meant that the former DA members are able to return to England. However, while many did return like Ron and Hermione Weasely (in Barcelona, Spain, Jasmine had been the maid of honor, and she wasn’t ashamed to admit that she bawled like a baby upon seeing her brother and sister in all but blood being finally joined in holy matrimony) as well as Neville and Luna Longbottom (the two pretty much eloped to Nevada, United States within a year of dating each other though they did plan on having an actual wedding upon their return to England if only for Neville’s grandmother’s sake), there were those who decided to remain outside the United Kingdom for one reason or another like Blaise Zabini and Susan Bones (both had already built up their own successful livelihoods in Sweden and Mongolia respectively).

Jasmine had been part of the latter. While she did enjoy experiencing different cultures, her traveling became more of a necessity rather than a pseudo-luxury like many of her schoolmates. Throughout her travels, she had run into various dark wizards who have followed her trail and have attacked her.

Although the Wizarding governments have dealt with the perpetrators, there have been cases where the witch did not come out unscathed. Jasmine lost count of how many encounters led her to being put in the hospital. Things got so severe that she legally changed her name to her pseudonym in order to throw off her pursuers.

In the end, Jasmine decided it was too dangerous for her to go back to England and ended up moving to Japan at Luna’s insistence.

“The Japanese Wizarding World is very strict when it comes to Dark Magic. Anyone caught using it is punished heavily, and it doesn’t matter what country they’re from. They really don’t tolerate the Dark Arts over there.” Hermione informed her friend with approval, her nose still in the book that explained the society they are researching.

Jasmine, Ron, and Hermione were currently in Andromeda’s house visiting Teddy. Hermione had shown up with her husband in tow and an armful of books about the Magical Japan. Jasmine was naturally wary of settling in another country again. Usually the moment she does, something bad tends to happen. The longest she had ever lived in a foreign nation without anything “abnormal” happening was three months, and it was in Germany. Everything was blissfully peaceful and mundane until Augustus Rookwood, who managed to avoid arrest by staying in hiding and bided his time in getting his revenge on his master’s killer, attacked the bakery shop she had opened. Needless to say, she didn’t stay too long after Rookwood was finally arrested and relocated to Hungary afterwards.

“You know, maybe Luna might be on to something there. The place is far, but it sounds like the perfect place for you to stay, Jasmine.” Ron agreed with his wife. “Come to think of it, didn’t you have those penpals of yours you keep owling back in Hogwarts? How did Luna know about them?”

“I’ve never really stopped writing to them, except for maybe during our Fifth and Seventh Year.” The witch trailed off a little towards the end. There was a pregnant pause as they remembered what happened in those years. Not only did they have to deal with Umbridge’s reign of terror, but Jasmine had to deal with losing Hedwig on top of hunting Horcruxes.

“So it’s settled then? You’ll be moving to Japan with Teddy?” Hermione asked, breaking the silence by changing the subject. Jasmine had recently gotten full custody of her godson a few years before. At the time, Andromeda’s health and emotional well-being was declining to the point where she is barely able to keep up with her grandson so she insisted that Jasmine take the five year old with her under the condition that they visit regularly, which Jasmine would’ve happily done so anyways.

“Oh…yeah. The Ministry has already gotten all the paperwork drawn up for dual citizenship for me and Teddy. So most of everything is already taken care of. The rest I can handle on my own.” Jasmine said.

“…If you’re sure, mate. Hey, don’t forget to drop by the Burrow from time to time when you’re in the neighborhood. Maybe you can bring your Japanese friends along as well.” Ron suggested.

“Ron, they’re Muggles, remember. But seriously, though. Don’t be a stranger, okay.” Hermione said with fondness in her voice.

(◎▼◎)

The Japanese Ministry of Magic was a lot more accommodating than she originally thought. After years of traveling around the world with her friends and former schoolmates, she was ready to settle down somewhere preferably peaceful to an extent.

The young woman was currently walking down the streets of Yokohama, Japan. Her nose was buried in a map that contained directions to the café where her new job was located. Now if it were written by another person, she wouldn’t have been lost. Unfortunately, Jasmine, in hindsight, probably, shouldn’t have asked Luna for detailed instructions.

The witch sighed and decided to give up trying to make sense of the mass of scribbles and illustrations covering the map. Pocketing the paper in her purse, Jasmine then turned her attention to the little golden bird nesting in her hair. “What do you think, Snitch? Are you up for a tracking job?”

Snitch cheeped eagerly, and immediately took off flying rapidly down the streets with her mistress running after her. Snitch was a Golden Snidget that Jasmine had saved during her trip through the Amazon with her godbrother, Neville Longbottom. The two were out on an expedition to collect samples of plants, both magical and non-magical, for Neville’s crossbreeding project. However, they stumbled upon some wizarding poachers hunting down a hidden colony of the Snidgets. Upon discovery of their actions, the encounter turned violent as the poachers tried to kill the godsiblings to silence them. Unfortunately for them, the poachers were not war veterans and were quickly subdued and taken to the nearest South American Ministry to be arrested.

While the Ministry was able to relocate the precious birds into a more secure protected environment, sadly, some of the fragile birds did not survive the poachers’ harsh treatment.

Little Snitch had been only a chick at the time and the only survivor of her entire nest. Frightened and traumatized after losing her parents and siblings to the cruelty to the inhumane wizards, she instinctively reached out and attached herself to Jasmine, whose comforting magic soothed the panicking Snidget.

To the surprise of many, this resulted in the familiar bonding. And so, the South American Ministries allowed The-Woman-Who-Conquered to take the Snidget chick and were more than happy to draw up the paperwork to confirm the bond between the pair to prevent anyone from foolishly separating the avian familiar from her witch partner.

The incident had done more good than anyone had realized. For Snitch, she gained something of an adopted mother in Jasmine as her mistress was the one who had carefully raised her with love and security since that day. As for Jasmine, Snitch had filled a hole in her heart that she never realized she had since Hedwig’s death. The tiny bird wasn’t a mere pet or even a simple messenger bird.

And now here they were. Snitch was darting about the café sign that Jasmine had been looking for and was chirping proudly over her accomplishment. Jasmine stopped in front and rested her hands on her knees to catch her breath as Snitch settled back into her Mistress’ long haphazardous curls. The witch reached up and gently petted her avian companion for a job well done, earning her a long satisfied cheep from the bird.

The café is situated on the first floor of a large building located in the area where Ranpo-senpai and Kunikida-kun worked. In fact, her workplace was right below theirs. People in the detective agency liked to come down and unwind here on their breaks so while the place is rather slow at times, it still receives its regulars. All in all, the place might have been made for the reclusive Jasmine Katherine Rowling.

The young woman straightened up and pushed the door open to walk inside.

Honestly, she hoped her Japanese friends would appreciate the surprise. She looked forward in seeing their faces once they see that their JK-chan is in town and here to stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to BSD, Jasmine! And may your stay be as chaotic and crazy as the Wizarding World.
> 
> Headcanon: This is a common trope in HP fanfiction. Luna is, to be specific, a Sight Seer because she can see things on a level no normal beings can comprehend. So the “creatures” she’d always talked about like Nargles, Wrackspurts, and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks are all metaphors used to describe what she sees.
> 
> Neville and Luna: Is it bad that I ship those two to death? I’ve had read so any fanfics of them getting together that I can barely imagine them being paired up with anyone else.
> 
> By the way, if anyone is curious as to what everyone had been up to during the timeskip, look to my side story, A Peck of Owls. It’s basically a collection of omakes that I couldn’t fit into the main storyline. 
> 
> Isn’t Snitch adorable? If anyone has read PsychAnalyst’s story, Secret Affairs, that’s where she came from. I would like to dedicate this chapter on their behalf for giving me permission to use Snitch the snidget in this story. Quote:  
> "I hereby grand Kuroyuki-Kokuyoku express permission to use Snitch as Jasmine's avian familiar."
> 
> Here’s to hoping I do PsychAnalyst proud. If you want more Snitch but in a slice-of-life setting, go check out the HP/Hetalia crossover. Be warned, there’s yaoi and a whole lotta fluff. I’m sure the author would appreciate it~
> 
> I forgot to mention in previous chapters. For the dates of the HP!timeline, just add an additional 10 years. BSD was first released in 2012, and I’m using the 2010s as the date the present takes place. This tidbit might not be so important, but I can’t help but add that for those who might be so nitpicky about sticking to the canons.
> 
> Edited (7/13/17) ┬─┬ノ(ಠ_ಠノ)


	6. The Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Oh, you’re here. Surprise~!” Jasmine said to the stunned trio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The overrulers of copyright hereby decree that I do not own any of these franchises…
> 
> 'Italicized-Thoughts.'

“You know, after that misadventure, I think we all deserve a little break. I’m up for some sweet curry at the usual place.” Ranpo suggested to his coworkers.

A loud growl was heard from the weretiger causing Atsushi to flush bright red. “Ah, s-sorry! I-I didn’t eat much for breakfast so I guess…um…” He trailed off.

“It’s 37 minutes past noon. An ideal time for a lunch break.” Kunikida stated as he looked his phone for the time.

He, Kunikida, and Atsushi were returning from a recent terrorist threat they’ve solved. Originally, it had been just Ranpo solving a difficult case about a serial killer for the police with Atsushi as his companion. On the way back, they came across a suicidal bomber on the subway. Kunikida was sent on the scene as their backup. With their combined efforts, they were able to put down the would-be terrorist quickly with no casualties. The trio was now currently entering the agency’s favorite haunts for lunch.

CHEEEEEEPPPP~!!!

“WHAT THE-!!” A small yellow blur hurled itself towards the men and smacked against Kunikida’s head with enough force to push his head back causing him to take a step back.

“Hey, isn’t that Snitch-chan?” Atsushi asked. Upon closer inspection, the blur turned out to be a small golden bird happily snuggling up against the man’s cheek.

“Since Snitch-chan is here, I guess that means our usual mail has come in. You must’ve gotten impatient as usual.” Ranpo remarked to the Snidget.

“Ah. I see that you’ve met our new mascot. Snitch-chan has been quite popular with our customers recently. In fact, I can’t remember a time where I’ve been this busy since this café first opened.” The middle-aged waitress said to the detectives.

“Wait, mascot? What do you by that?” The teenaged male of the group asked. Normally, Snitch hung out around the agency and would buzz about the detectives for attention as she waited for her reply letter. As far as they knew, this is the first time Snitch appeared in the café.

“Snitch-chan, here belongs to our newest employee, Rowling-san. She’s a lovely young lady. I’ve sent her out to fetch ingredients so she can make her scones. Once they’re done, I highly recommend you give them a try while they’re still hot.” The owner of the café said.

As if on cue, the backdoor opened, revealing a small figure of a young woman holding a bag of groceries to her chest.

“Oh, you’re here. Surprise~!” Jasmine said to the stunned trio.

“JK-CHAN!!!” The three detectives exclaimed happily upon seeing her.

(◎▼◎)

Within an hour, everyone in the Armed Detective Agency was gathered around in the café to meet the young woman. Coffee and tea was served as well as a variety of snacks and pastries made by the shop’s newest employee for the small party. The owner allowed Jasmine to take an early break so that the agency may be acquainted with Ranpo and Kunikida’s mysterious friend.

Everyone in the Armed Detective Agency has known about the woman known as “JK-chan” at some point or another. They knew who she was from all the letters, pictures, and occasional presents she sent to her penpals.

Jasmine Katherine Rowling was a petite young woman with emerald green almond shaped eyes. Easily the shortest adult they’ve ever met as Kenji, a boy of only fourteen, was visibly taller than her by a handful of centimeters. Her long dark hair was tied back loosely in a low ponytail, leaving a few strands of black curls to frame her face. Her clothes consisted of a short navy blue jacket over a green blouse tied with a large white bow tied under the collar and a purple calf length pleated skirt. In addition, she was wearing the café’s uniform apron. Combined with the gentle expression on her face and the amiable gleam in her eyes, she gave people the impression of a young newlywed housewife at first glance.

“I must say, Rowling-san. Your Japanese is very good. I figured you’d be as…eccentric as the letters you’ve sent to our boys here.” Yosano complimented the younger woman. To her pleasant surprise, Jasmine can fluently speak the language albeit with a faint but charming accent.

Jasmine smiled bashfully and flushed a little in embarrassment. “Thank you very much, Yosano-sensei. If it’s not too much trouble, you can just call me, ‘JK-chan’. Not that you can tell from my letters, but I’ve actually had a lot of practice. You can thank Ranpo-senpai for that. When I was a child I made up that writing style as a small brain exercise for Ranpo-senpai and I.”

“And you’re still a 100 years too early to try and stump me with your letters.” The black-haired detective added in confidently.

“So _you’re_ the reason why her writing style keeps changing?! Do you have any idea how much time I’ve lost deciphering her letters?! My schedule was never the same thanks to them!” Kunikida glared at Ranpo before turning his attention to his female friend. “ _And you!!_ What do you have to say for yourself?”

Jasmine sheepishly smiled and began fidgeting a little. “Sorry about that, Kunikida-kun. I guess I gotten so used to writing that way for Ranpo-senpai that I began writing like that for you as well. On the bright side, the letters are a good time way to increase one’s intelligence…you know if you can actually _read_.”

“Really? That’s amazing! Is Japanese language different for foreigners then?” Kenji asked out of curiosity.

“Well…” The young woman in question trailed off as she tried to search for an answer. Just then, she felt Dazai gently grab her hand in his as he gazed at her adoringly from his kneeling position from the floor. For a moment, she thought she felt a cold tingle briefly rush through her body before disappearing completely.

“Ah, my lady~! You are as beautiful as your name. Will you do me the honor of committing a double suicide with me?” The bandage-wearing man said before being kicked away by his angry coworker.

“You womanizing scum with a suicidal fetish! Not even a whole 2 hours and you’re already flirting with her!” Kunikida growled as he grabbed the fallen man by the collar of his shirt and began to choke him. In the background, Ranpo was hiding his bloodlust towards the brunet as he slowly ate his scones.

Jasmine sweatdropped as she expertly caught a mug of tea sent flying towards her thanks to her friend’s violence. “Ah, I’m afraid I’ll have to refuse, Dazai-san. I would say I’m flattered about your offer, but then I’ll be lying…and I hate liars. Also I have someone else in my life to think about.” If she wasn’t aware of her penpal’s colleague’s penchant of committing failed suicides, she would’ve been more concerned over his actions just now.

“Oh, so I take it you’re in a committed relationship? Not surprising, a beautiful woman such as yourself must have a man waiting for her back home.” The brunet said, his voice slightly muffled by his partner’s shoe on his face.

“Well, you’re not wrong. I do have a man…actually, a boy to be precise.” Jasmine corrected with a serene smile.

Kunikida immediately stopped his actions and turned towards the woman. “Wait a minute, this is news for me! I didn’t know you had a younger boyfriend hidden away somewhere! You never mentioned any of this in your letters!”

“My, my, Kunikida-kun~. Are you perhaps jealous that this person beat you to the punch?” Ranpo teased the taller man.

“AS IF!!! For your information, I will be dating by my ideal partner in 2 years time. As her _friend_ , I am merely expressing my concern about her well-being. Besides, Ranpo-san, if you can recall that she has already dealt with countless of cases of stalkers in the past. So excuse me for being suspicious of the man who may be another criminal in disguise!” He explained as he calmly fixed his glasses with a finger.

Sad as it may be, Kunikida was right. After the war, Jasmine’s popularity had increased to the point where people began worshipping her as a deified witch on equal grounds of Merlin and Morganna. However, the increased attention also came with people targeting her for unsavory purposes. It’s no wonder that it would be one of the main reasons why Jasmine’s love life was pretty much nonexistent.

The last time she had dated someone, the guy ended up being one of her mentally-insane stalkers. That incident was the main reason why she changed her surname to Rowling. She wanted to keep her identities as the Jasmine Potter, Woman-Who-Conquered, and Jasmine Katherine Rowling, an ordinary coffee shop employee, separate from each other. But with her romantic luck thus far, it’s as if Fate is telling her that she’s doomed to die an old maid.

“Oh, but Kunikida-kun, you do know of this person. Do you remember? You and I were only 17 when he first came into our lives.” Jasmine said to the blond man.

’ _17? …Wouldn’t that be…? …Ohh, I see how it is. JK-chan, you little minx._ ’ Ranpo thought before chiming in, “That’s right, Kunikida-kun~. How could you have forgotten about him? Come to think of it, JK-chan, isn’t his birthday next week?” Honestly, it was easy enough to put two and two together on who it was exactly she was referring to. And he didn’t even need his Super Deduction to do it.

“You remembered, Ranpo-senpai! I’m so glad you don’t think that you’re too good for using your memory outside of work.” The young Englishwoman said, making some people snicker.

‘ _I think I taught my little kohai a little too well._ ’ He sweatdropped a little at her comment.

“And before you ask, I’ve already planned out most of everything. Now all that’s left is to introduce all of you. He’s been wanting to meet you two for years. I think I’ve been spoiling him with stories of your cases so go easy on him if he starts fanboying.” Jasmine said.

“I can’t wait then. So a fan of mine, eh? This’ll the first time I’ll be meeting the little bear face to face.” Ranpo replied.

Meanwhile Kunikida was seething with increasing rage. What are they talking about now?! Shouldn’t Ranpo-san be more concerned about JK-chan? After all, she could be dating one of her stalkers! Besides, if Kunikida remembered correctly, there was no one he knew of that was younger than JK-chan, whom she knew when she was seventeen, whose birthday was next week, or referred to as a beeeeaar……….. Hold on. Just like that all his anger evaporated. “…You guys…do you mean… Are you two referring to Edward-kun?”

“Of course. Who _else_ would we be talking about? Kafka Asagiri? Or perhaps Robert Galbraith? Honestly, Kunikida-kun. Don’t be ridiculous.” Jasmine said as her smile became more mischievous by the second.

“Maaaa~, Kunikida-kun got worried for nothing~.” Ranpo teased his coworker, earning him a slap the back of the smaller detective’s head in retaliation.

Everyone in the café burst out laughing at that.

(◎▼◎)

“So when will you be picking that little wolf of yours, JK-chan? Akiko-oba-chan wants to meet the little chibi~.” Yosano gushed as she remembered how adorable Jasmine’s godson was in the photo the young mother sent a couple of years ago.

“In 3 days. I was finally able to unpack everything and set up my new house. Now that I have a job, he and Andy, Teddy’s grandmother, will be arriving soon.” Jasmine explained.

“Can we all come along to the airport? We’d love to meet your son.” Kenji asked eagerly. Back in his village, he’d always play with the younger kids. He hoped that Jasmine’s son will like him so they can become great friends with each other.

The young woman paused and thought a little. “Well…I was planning on introducing Ranpo-senpai and Kunikida-kun on his birthday, but I decided to change things up a bit by pushing that meeting up and inviting everyone to a day at the amusement park on Teddy’s special day.” This way the little boy can get used to the move a little easier if his idol came to see him. By the time his birthday rolls over, most of the culture shock should fade away enough that everyone can meet her son without overwhelming the child.

“But…wouldn’t that be expensive?” Atsushi asked the young mother nervously. As much as he loved to come, he wondered if he even has enough money to pay the entry fee for himself.

Jasmine waved off his concerns. “It’ll be fine. Besides, I’m already covering all the expenses. Thanks to my inheritance, I have more money than I know what to do with. I might as well put it to good use and spoil the people I love. Though I can’t help but think that it doesn’t sound as pleasing as bribing you all with my drool-worthy cooking skills.”

“If you can cook as well as you can bake, I’ll gladly sell my soul to you.” Ranpo chimed in with a mouthful of Jasmine’s scones. “No, seriously, JK-chan. Cook for me for the rest of my life.”

“Ranpo-san, you do realize that when you say things like that, you’re just giving the Director ideas.” Tanizaki commented to him. He pointed to Fukuzawa sitting behind his subordinates, casually sipping at his green tea.

The founder of the Armed Detective Agency was impassive as usual…that is if one ignores the unholy gleam in his eyes as he watched Ranpo interact with Jasmine.

“Hey, old man/With all due respect, sir…Don’t you dare think about it.” Ranpo and Kunikida said in unison.

“…You mean he’s still trying to get you hitched? I thought he stopped after he tried to trick Kunikida-kun in becoming a candidate for you.” Jasmine mentioned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did anyone catch the references I made? Any questions, comments, or concerns about what’s happening so far?
> 
> Edited (7/13/17) (ಠ益ಠ)


	7. Seen and Unforseen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slight Luna POV interlude. Enjoy~ (⌐▨_▨)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  
> Me: (summons Shenron) I wish I can own the rights to Bungou Stray Dogs and Harry Potter.  
> Shenron: That wish cannot be granted. It is beyond my power to do so.  
> Me: …Fuck all kinds of duck.

(Three Years Ago)

Eighteen-year old Luna Lovegood was on a mission.

It involved a complicated plan that she managed to convince everyone to follow. After she revealed her findings along with Shacklebolt, he jumped on the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. Firstly, with the former DA members being “pseudo-exiled” outside of Britain, their safety can be relatively secured. Secondly, if Luna’s plan works and everything works out the way it should, Jasmine will have the freedom to be able to live her life as she pleases.

So while Jasmine was traveling from country to country and enjoying everything the world has to offer, Luna was also doing some nation-jumping of her own. But not for leisurely purposes. The blonde was actually on the lookout for dens of Crumple Horned Snorkacks.

…Or as “normal” people call them, ability users.

(◎▼◎)

There isn’t much information on ability users in general. Just that they exist with a wide varieties of supernatural powers. Some abilities are relatively harmless while others are a danger to the public. But there is something that not even the ability user community knows.

Their abilities have origins that can be traced back to the Wizarding World.

The abilities of the ability users are the first signs of a revival of an ancient pureblood family’s magic through their distant descendents. Those “abilities” are actually a manifestation of the dormant family magic choosing the rightful heir of a forgotten family. Since magic itself doesn’t discriminate between blood status, gender, or age, practically anyone with direct ties the bloodline can inherit, even squibs and their descendents.

In some cases, those who inherit their abilities that way eventually become far stronger than their ancestors ever were. Unspeakables all over the world have theorized that it’s the magic’s way of making up for countless of generations of inactivity. A recent study also suggests that the lack of inbreeding in recent generations of the “ability users” is the cause for the drastic increase in power. This makes sense as excessive selective breeding can decrease the family magic’s potency by the generation to the point where it disappears altogether and becomes lost to time.

With this understanding, certain governmental organizations like Japan’s Special Ability Department was formed on the suggestion of the Wizarding World to monitor the activity of ability users.

They are Luna’s targets. By accessing their records on their ability users, she can find what she’s been searching for. Given that ability users tend to congregate in groups, it makes her job easier to track them down and examine them. Unfortunately, she underestimated the difficulty of her self-imposed mission.

Order of the Clock Tower? They were more arrogant than the worst of the wizarding purebloods, something that she didn’t thought was possible until she met her fellow Englishmen face-to-face.

The Guild? Promising, but they’re missing something crucial. It also didn’t help that she disagreed with their goals.

Mimic? She’s not going anywhere near them. Even more so when she heard that they were completely annihilated later on.

So far all of the ability user organizations she’d met were dead ends. With every failure, she felt herself becoming more and more desperate. However, she would eventually find that hope can come in the unlikeliest of places.

Yokohama, Japan.

The city that holds the salvation she seeks.

(◎▼◎)

Luna was planning on visiting a maid café to unwind after her meeting with Port Mafia’s leader. She thought he was a delightful man…if you can ignore his bloodthirsty nature and lolicon tendencies. Little Elise was absolutely a darling, and Mister Chuuya was an excellent host with great taste in wine. She made a mental note to introduce him to firewhiskey the next time they meet.

Then there’s Ickle Ryuu. The poor boy was in desperate need of more hugs. With all the Wrackspurts infesting both his ears, it’s a wonder that he is able to think properly at all. Perhaps his lovely assistant, Higuchi, can help him with that…That is if he can stop running away every time he sees women with long blonde hair.

The blonde haired witch was suddenly jolted out of her thoughts when she accidently ran into a man. He was tall with a lanky frame and piercing brown eyes. His messy wavy brown hair framed his face, enhancing his charming features. He was wearing a light brown trench coat over a dress shirt and black vest with pale trousers and dark shoes. The most unusual feature about him is the exposed bandages Luna can see peeking out from his clothes around his neck area and a little past his wrists.

Dazai Osamu, aged nineteen smiled at her amiably. “Sorry about that. Are you hurt, young lady?”

The young woman stopped in her tracks and froze. She stared at him with a wide-eyed expression as though looking at something that’s not really there.

“Well if you’re alright, I’ll just take my leave then.” Dazai said as he turned to walk away from her. Normally, he’d be waxing poetry about her ethereal fairy-like beauty, but there was something about the woman that made him automatically suspicious of her. Like she’s hiding something.

If she is someone out to get him or something, he’d rather not confront her now. Especially when he’s supposed to be lying low until Taneda Santouka, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Special Abilities Division, clears his records.

Suddenly, Luna reached out and immediately latched onto his hand with a fierce grip as though he would disappear from her sight. “You… you’re perfect. Are you interested in having a wife?”

Deciding to humor her, he remarked, “No, but I am interested in committing a double suicide with a beautiful woman. Are you perhaps interested, my dear?” To be honest, Dazai was taken slightly aback by her last statement. It wasn’t because he may have finally discovered a double suicide partner. No, it the way the Englishwoman looked at him. The look in her eyes was one full of desperate hope, like the man in front of her was the answer to all her prayers.

“Oh, I don’t care about your little hobby. But can you perhaps put off that ambition of yours in maybe 50 to 100 years?”

The former mafia executive chuckled. “I don’t think I can wait that long.” His face then turned serious. “Now then. Let’s have a serious talk here. What do you want from me?”

Luna sighed and the whimsical expression on her face morphed into a sorrowful picture. “It’s my friend. She’s what you call an ability user. I believe that’s the term you use.”

“What sort of ability does she have?” Dazai asked, his tone gravely seriously.

A look of absolute despair passed through her face as Luna whispered her answer. That was all it took to catch his full attention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was rereading the manga a few times while writing out the scenes I’m planning for future chapters, I realized that my theory on ability users was a little off. (For those that don’t know, go read the AN on chapter 4 in the main storyline.)  
> Because I want to stick to the canon as close as possible, I am revising my headcanon theory there. While it won’t affect the story in any way, in fact, it actually fits into the story very well. Basically, my conclusion is that ability users are, in fact, BORN with the capability to using their ability. They may show signs of it manifesting as they grow older, but their ability doesn’t become obvious until then. SPOILERS AHEAD! SKIP THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON’T WANT TO READ!!!
> 
> In the cover for chapter 31, you see that a young Q alongside Dazai and Ougai. Judging by how small he is, I assumed that if Dazai was maybe 16 years old, he would be somewhere around 7. It also makes sense if Ougai, the recently-made leader of the mafia after murdering the previous with only Dazai as the witness, would take him under his wing and train Dazai into becoming Port Mafia’s youngest executive. Thus, these facts would support my theory. Not only that, Chapter 39 shows evidence that my headcanon about when Atsushi’s ability had manifested was wrong. He started showing the signs earlier and the Headmaster caught on quickly enough to lock him up every time he begins to transform, using the pretense of “being cruel to him for the sake of cruelty” to hide his ability. Thus, saving Atsushi from not only anyone wanting to kill him for being a dangerous ability user, but also from himself before he becomes strong enough to handle the emotional burden that comes with it.
> 
> SPOILER OVER!! That was a long explanation. With this in mind, Luna saw with her Sight that Jasmine is an ability user but doesn’t know what sort of ability she may develop because her ability was too immature to exactly tell. After the war, she saw that Jasmine’s ability was fully manifested, but it is affecting her in a way that could potentially destroy her psychologically. Obviously, she doesn’t want to lose her friend, so she’s been scouring the world for anyone with the ability that could cancel out Jasmine’s, therefore saving Jasmine by allowing her to be able to live her life without the burden of her ability.
> 
> Ickle Ryuu: Yes, yes, I did. I basically made Luna call Akutagawa by the English equivalent of “Aku-chan”, and I’m not sorry one bit.
> 
> Edited (6/10/17)


	8. The Riddle House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Alright, enough fun. Let’s be serious from now on.” The tallest of the detectives said, his expression grave and serious. “JK-chan, with all due respect, Teddy-kun will need to join the Armed Detective Agency.”
> 
> “…What?” Something about the tone in Jasmine’s voice and the unforgiving glint in her wide emerald eyes sent cold chills down the grown men’s spines. It’s as if their sweet but smart-mouthed friend was turning into a merciless entity of death in front of their eyes. What’s even stranger is that the little boy doesn’t seem to notice the change in atmosphere!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  
> Kyubey: Make a contract with me and become a magical girl!  
> Me: Sure! Only if you make the owner of Harry Potter and Bungou Stray Dogs!!!  
> Kyubey: …  
> Me: …  
> Kyubey: …Bitch, you need a life.

It takes twelve hours to get to London, England to Tokyo, Japan. Up until now, Teddy had never traveled by Muggle means. It was usually by Floo Network or Apparition so flying on an airliner was an adventure all by itself for the soon to be six-year-old. Since Teddy was too young to be traveling alone, his grandmother, Andromeda Tonks, was going with him. The plan was for her to stay in Japan for his birthday so she can sleep off the jetlag before going back to England. Given her old age and ailing health, it’s only natural the grandmother take it easy for her family’s sakes.

The pair had just arrived in Tokyo International Airport and were waiting for Jasmine to come pick them up. The young witch had already informed them that she had an early birthday surprise waiting for her son once he arrived. Ever since he boarded the commercial plane, the young boy had been buzzing with excitement. With how much energy Teddy had, Andromeda was amazed that she was even able to get her grandson to take sleep the whole trip.

“TEDDY! ANDY! OVER HERE!” Both grandmother and grandson heard a voice calling them.

Turning towards the source of the call, they saw Jasmine waving at them as she approached them. A golden blur flew around them as Snitch fluttered about them rapidly and cheeping at them in welcome. Following right behind the young woman were two men. One was a tall stern-looking man with his long dirty blond hair tied back. The other was significantly shorter with black hair and narrow, slanted eyes that seemed almost shut.

“Hi, Mum!” Teddy shouted back happily as he ran to greet his mother.

“Jasmine dear! How have you been? Were you able to settle down alright?” Andromeda asked.

“Yes, I’ve been doing well. Thanks for asking, Andy. What about you and Teddy? Was the trip here exhausting?” The young woman asked.

The older witch chuckled. “To be honest, I do feel a bit lethargic. The only concern I had was that Teddy was barely able to nap the whole time. He’s been even more excitable than usual since his birthday is coming up.”

“Speaking of birthdays…I have a special present I want to give to Teddy.” The young woman remarked with a knowing tone in her voice.

“What is it, Mum?” Her son asked.

“Remember my detective penpal you like so much…?” Jasmine gestured to the men behind her. Initially, they assumed they were simply escorts sent by the Japanese Ministry of Magic for the Woman-Who-Conquered. However, now they’ve gotten a good look at them, this isn’t the case.

“SURPRISE, TEDDY-KUN!!!! Look at you! You’ve grown up some since that picture JK-chan sent us.” Ranpo gushed over the boy in lightly accented English.

“JK-chan?” Andromeda questioned the usual title.

“It’s my nickname here.” The younger witch explained.

“Welcome to Japan, Tonks-san, Teddy-kun.” Kunikida said, following his coworker’s example. His English was good enough that if one hadn’t known that the man was originally born and raised in Japan, he could pass for a native British, accent and all.

“Oh…is that…? You wouldn’t happen to be…” Andromeda said, recognizing the dark-haired young man from Jasmine’s photos. She only knew of him because her grandson admired his achievements. This means that the tall young man next to him could only be this “Kunikida-kun” the boy’s adopted mother often spoke fondly about.

“IT’S MISTER RANPO!!!!” Teddy shouted happily, confirming her suspicions. Ever since Jasmine took to sharing her letters with her adopted son as a way to teach him how to read and write, he grew to love hearing about Ranpo and the cases he solved. It always amazed him how the detective can solve the impossible through the most minor of details. His admiration for the man also influenced his love for mystery books.

The old woman smiled warmly at the men. “It’s nice to finally meet you two. I’ve been hearing a lot about your antics through Jasmine and Teddy here.”

“I hope you’ve been hearing nothing but good about me. Then again, everything I do is nothing short of brilliant.” Ranpo boasted. “Although, if it’s anything embarrassing, I’ll have you know it’s all Kunikida-kun’s fault. The guy’s so high-strung about everything, it’s a miracle his blood pressure hasn’t broke world records.” He drawled mischievously as he thumbed at the tall blond man.

A vein pulsed on the man’s temple. “Perhaps if _a certain someone_ had actually done their work, THEN I WOULDN’T BE DEALING WITH A MIGRAINE EVERYTIME DAZAI GOES OFF ON HIS SUICIDAL FANATIC PASTTIME!!!!! THAT LAZY, BANDAGE-WASTING, TWISTED BAST-”

“Kunikida-kun!! Watch your language!!” Jasmine scolded her taller friend, causing him to feel guilty upon realizing he almost swore in the presence of an impressionable child. “You can rant and rave about Dazai-san in Shakespearean insults and British slang on a later date. I’ll even teach you some of the curses I’ve picked up during my travels.” She added cheerfully.

“Ah, sorry about that, JK-chan. I lost control of myself.” He apologized, taking out his ever-present notebook and jotting down a reminder to not swear in front of Teddy and set aside a time so he can visit his female friend to vent about his problems and swap foreign vulgarities.

“Oh! I almost forgot! I need to deliver Teddy’s paperwork to the Ministry.” The old woman of the group exclaimed

“Oh yeah, Teddy’s staying here with JK-chan. Do you need us to come with you to find your way?” Ranpo offered.

“I appreciate the offer, but no thank you, dear. This old lady may be getting on her age, but she can more than handle herself. Besides, I’ve been here before with my late daughter and husband on our last vacation together.” It was a half-truth. Years ago, when Tonks had just been a child, the small family had vacationed in Kyoto, Japan for a few days. Rather than calling a taxi to get to her destination, Andromeda was simply going to stop at a local wizarding pub and use their Floo Network to get to the Japanese Ministry of Magic.

“If you’re sure, Andy.” Jasmine said. “Why don’t we all continue talking at my house? Sitting in a nice comfy chair with a cup of hot tea beats standing in the middle of the airport.”

“Not only that, Teddy-kun must be tired so a break would be nice.” Kunikida commented as he saw that his friend’s son was practically half-dead on his feet but just didn’t want to show it.

“So it’s settled then. You four will go to the house and relax while I’ll go drop off the paperwork. I won’t be back for some time so no need to hold yourselves back from enjoying yourselves because I’m not there with you.” The grandmother said.

The tall detective protested. “But, Madam. I must insist that you-”

“Poo, I’m old! Not dying!” Andromeda fumed at the young man with a pout. “I reckon I still have another 50 years before I’m even on my deathbed.”

“Just let Andy do what she wants.” The young mother said with amusement. “Besides, she’s a Black. We, Black, women, are strong-willed, vicious little things. My advice: be careful when you stand in their way.”

(◎▼◎)

Jasmine’s house is a two story house with five rooms and three bathrooms not including the living room, dining room, attic, basement, and kitchen. The backyard is relatively large yet bare, but knowing the woman, it would eventually be filled up with various species of flowers in the near future.

“You boys don’t hesitate to make yourselves at home. If anyone needs me, I’ll be in the kitchen making tea and snacks. Any preferences before I go?” The young woman asked as everyone gravitated into the living room.

“Biscuits!” Teddy replied eagerly as he jumped onto the spacious couch.

“Just tea if it’s not too much trouble.” Kunikida said, deciding to remain standing.

“I don’t care, but make mine with lots of sugar.” Ranpo chimed in, stealing a spot next to the little boy.

Jasmine nodded and then excused herself to prepare the treats, leaving behind her son with her two childhood penpals.

“H-Hi, my n-name is Ted-wait, I mean-Lupin Teddy! I-I am 6 years old really soon!” He introduced himself to his idol and the man’s friend nervously in clumsy Japanese.

Ranpo smiled, amused and impressed by the child’s attempt at Japanese. “Nice to meet you, Teddy-kun. I’m Ranpo Edogawa, and this scary, tall guy besides me is Doppo Kunikida.” He said slowly and carefully in his native language so the boy can keep up, first pointing at himself then at his younger coworker.

“Oi, I’m not that scary! I’ll have you know I used to teach to kids.” Kunikida said, only in English out of consideration of the child.

“You were still in high school at the time, and you scared off the real sensei. Then you took over the entire classroom, and the principal had no choice but to keep you since you were doing much better than your idiot of a sensei. By the time, you got a teaching degree, your reputation as the “Demon Sensei-kun” had already reached the math department at the university you you’re your online classes from.” Ranpo pointed out, returning to English.

“And the grades have never been higher.” The man said smugly, understandably proud of his achievement. While it was agreed that Kunikida was strict as hell, his teaching methods worked extremely well so none of his former students/classmates can complain after seeing how their test results compare to other classes. Hands down, he was easily the best and worst sensei they ever had. When he stopped being a full-time teacher in favor of becoming an official member of the Armed Detective Agency, the farewell party they threw for him was a general mix of “Yatta!” and “Kuso!”

Teddy looked at the tall man with awe in his eyes. “Wow, Mister Kunikida is awesome! Um, Mister Ranpo?”

“Yes?”

“…There’s something I’ve been wondering…how are you able to solve all those mysteries? Do you have magic or something that makes you super smart?”

“Me, kiddo? NOPE~! There are two things wrong about that observation. One: I don’t need magic to be an amazing detective. And two: I, of course, am too awesome a detective to use magic to solve a case.” Ranpo bragged to the little boy all while striking a dramatic pose. “I can instantly tell what happened. I can even tell what toys you played with before you came here and what you ate for dinner last night.”

“Really? You can tell all that? Can you show me, please?”

“Why not? Just let me put on my glasses and show you what I can do.” Ranpo said, getting up to his feet.

Kunikida then grabbed Ranpo by his shoulder and turned him towards him and whispered to him in their native language. “Oi, does JK-chan even know about ability users? Should you even be doing this?” Even though his coworker doesn’t have an ability, it doesn’t hurt being too careful in involving civilians into the secret world of ability users just in case.

The dark-haired detective waved off his coworker’s concerns. “Relax, he’s only a kid. Even if he does go around blabbing to everyone about me, who’s going to take him seriously?” He then pointed out, “For your information, I was being as careful as you were by omitting mentioning our abilities. Even if our enemies go after them to get back at the agency, we can handle them since JK-chan is conveniently 3 floors below our headquarters, right? Knowing her, she’ll probably enroll Teddy-kun in that nearby elementary school just a block away.”

Ranpo reached into his pocket and pulled out his beloved glasses. Putting them on as dramatically as he can, the man examined the wide-eyed boy in the process. After a while minute the expression on his face went from amusement to grim concern.

Just then, Jasmine reentered the living room with a tray of tea and biscuits. “I’m back, guys. I hoped you two like black tea since that’s all I have right now.” Setting down the tray on the table, she turned her attention to the trio. “As for Ranpo-senpai, I don’t know how much sugar you’d like in your tea so I leaving the sugar pot here. So how is everyone doing?”

Teddy immediately got off the couch, ran towards his mother, and then latched onto her skirt. “Mum…Mister Ranpo is looking at me weirdly.”

“Senpai? Is there something wrong?” Jasmine said with concern.

Taking off his glasses, he got up and looked up at his female friend with a serious expression on his face. “JK-chan…your son…is he a shape-shifting ability user?”

Shock went through mother and son in the room. Jasmine held her child closer to her as he whimpered and buried his face into her side. Her whole body instinctively tensed up as she got ready to come to the defense of her child in case anything happened. “What do you mean by that, Ranpo-senpai?” The young mother asked cautiously.

The man held up his hands in a nonthreatening gesture. “Calm down, JK-chan. We’re not going to hurt Teddy-kun… After all, why would we? Especially when both Kunikida-kun and I are ability users as well.”

The young woman turned to the tallest male in the room. “…You too?”

“Yes. We belong to the Armed Detective Agency. It isn’t just an organization of private detectives. It’s a company formed for ability users to be able to utilize their abilities to help and protect others. In other words, practically every detective in the agency is an ability user.”

“That’s amazing!” Teddy exclaimed, completely forgetting his fear.

“…Then why didn’t…” The confused woman trailed off, unsure what to say about this new knowledge.

“Because it’s not a well-known subject to the public. Understandably, it’s to minimize the chances of our enemies targeting you just for associating with us.” Ranpo replied simply. “Although…you seem to know something. Is there about Teddy that we should know? Your body language suggests it’s not just him. Is it you?”

Jasmine remained silent. Should she explain about magic and the Wizarding World to them? She knew that ability users have a separate world of their own. She supposed she could tell them since Teddy’s metamorphagus has already been found out, but she doesn’t know how strict the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy is held in Japan.

“…His parents.” The adopted mother finally said. She decided to play it safe for now. “He inherited his ability from his mother. His father, on the other hand… Remus had…lycanthropy. Teddy doesn’t have it himself, but he does become a little…energetic during the full moon.”

“Lycanthropy?”

“So he was a werewolf.” The shorter detective concluded. “Is that all you’re worried about, JK-chan? That we’d shun you just because Teddy’s old man turns fluffy and scary at night? As if we’d do any of that!” Ranpo complained about Jasmine’s lack of faith in her childhood penpals.

Kunikida fixed his glasses and replied, “Rest assured, your son isn’t the only shape-shifter we know of. In fact, Atsushi’s ability, Beast Beneath the Moonlight, has the ability to turn into a tiger. He even confesses that he feels…more on the feral side…during nights when the moon is out.” Whenever they’ve treated the weretiger to dinner during those times, the teen would order meat heavy meals, sometimes on the rare side if he could get it.

“Really?! That’s awesome. Even the _name_ is awesome! Mum, Can I have a name just as awesome as that?! Pretty please!” The woman’s son rambled excitedly.

“Hmm, perhaps when you’re older.” Jasmine replied then she noticed her son was fidgeting. “Do you want something, Teddy?”

“Um…Can I…?”

The young mother chewed her lip in thought before nodding. “…I suppose it’s fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure Kunikida-kun and Ranpo-senpai can keep a secret. Right, you two?” She said, turning to the men.

“Of course.” Ranpo confirmed with Kunikida nodding beside him.

In an instant, Teddy visibly changed before their eyes. Short curly dark hair straightened to become a spiky and unkempt. Almond shaped green eyes immediately narrowed to near slits. His warm smile turned nearly mischievous as the bone structures of his face transformed as well. Once he was done, the final effect was stunning to the detectives.

“AWWWWW, IT’S A CHIBI-ME!!!!!!!” Ranpo squealed with joy.

“OI, CONTROL YOURS- …Huh? …H-hey, his hair is turning lighter!” Kunikida tried to scold his comrade only to get distracted by the boy’s hair slowly turning into a dirty blond color.

…Just like his.

“Yeah, he tends to do that. Teddy has a habit of taking on the appearance of the people he likes. Otherwise his hair color changes to whatever represents how he feels. Oh, look! Bright pink~. Looks like someone’s embarrassed~.” The young woman cooed over her son as he shyly hid his face from them. His now fuchsia stained locks betraying his emotions.

“That’s even cuter~. He’s like a walking mood ring~.” The oldest male in the room cooed.

“Alright, enough fun. Let’s be serious from now on.” The tallest of the detectives said, his expression grave and serious. “JK-chan, with all due respect, Teddy-kun will need to join the Armed Detective Agency.”

“…What?” Something about the tone in Jasmine’s voice and the unforgiving glint in her wide emerald eyes sent cold chills down the grown men’s spines. It’s as if their sweet but smart-mouthed friend was turning into a merciless entity of death in front of their eyes. What’s even stranger is that the little boy doesn’t seem to notice the change in atmosphere!

“D-Don’t worry, it’s not official until he’s much older. You see, ability users are often indoctrinated into an organization of some sorts. Most of the time, those organizations…aren’t too friendly.” Kunikida quickly explained to placate the protective mother. To his relief, Jasmine relaxed and the oppressive atmosphere forming around them lightened as the men finally let out a breath they didn’t realized they were holding.

“Other than a governmental department in the Ministry dedicated to handling the affairs of ability users, there’s another organization nearby called Port Mafia, a _legal_ underground ability user organization. Trust me, they won’t care that Teddy-kun is only 6 years old once they find out about his ability. All they care about is what they could gain from having an ability user who could shape-shift into anyone.” He continued his explanation.

“The connection can guarantee that no one will touch him, and as his mother, it even extends to you as well.” Ranpo added. “We may be small, but we are more than capable of handling any threat that comes our way.”

“As an added bonus, it helps that you work in the same building as us. Protecting the two of you will be much easier than if you were all the way across the city.”

Their offer seems tempting. Too tempting. It’s not that she doesn’t trust her old friends in safeguarding their safety when the situation calls for it. In fact, it’s just that everything seems too good to be true.

For one thing, he’s already guaranteed as a student in Hogwarts. Jasmine had even planned ahead with Andromeda on how they will deal with the boy’s Hogwarts years in the future. Telling the agency about the Wizarding World is well within the Statute, so it shouldn’t be a problem for him once he turns eleven if they knew all about magic. She doubted anyone in the agency will turn him away once it’s revealed that they are actually wizards. But the question still remains: Does Teddy even want to be a part of the agency when he’s older?

(◎▼◎)

On the way back to their headquarters, Kunikida started up an interesting conversation. “…Ranpo-san…are you _absolutely sure_ you and JK-chan never privately met 6 or 7 years ago?”

Ranpo frowned. Where was his coworker going with this? “Yes, I’m very sure. Why are you asking this? You should already know. Besides, I don’t want another incident like last time.” He felt phantom pains on his neck as he remembered how the taller man nearly ripped his throat out.

The blond stared at the shorter brunet intensely. “…It’s just…Back there…when Teddy-kun shifted…for a moment , he looked like a spitting image of you but with JK-chan’s eyes…”

“…Look, if I ever get a girlfriend, I want her to be so amazing that she trumps all 58 traits of your ideal future wife. Not to mention, with the director trying to set me up with an omiai all the time, having a girlfriend would be terrific by now.” Ranpo drawled.

“You’d think he’d given up by now after you and Yosano-sensei nearly destroyed the building during the interview.” He sighed heavily as he remembered the carnage.

“In my defense, it wasn’t as bad as that one time he somehow convinced Dazai-san to put on a wedding dress and try to elope with me and you.” The dark-haired detective then looked towards Kunikida mischievously. “One last thing, didn’t Teddy-kun lightened up his hair to be _your_ hair color a little while later? By your logic, that could only mean…”

“SHUT UP!!!! IT WAS JUST A PASSING THOUGHT!!!!” The taller detective roared at his shorter comrade. “Come on, let’s go. We’re 16 seconds late from returning to the agency.”

Ranpo laughed as the fuming man stormed into the building and followed after him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT’S SUMMER BREAK FOR ME, BUT I’M DREADING THE DAY WHEN MY FINAL GRADES WILL COME IN!!!! SO I’M JUST GOING CHANNEL MOST OF MY ENERGY INTO MY STORIES!!!! 
> 
> I have created a poll on the direction Great Expectations and The Peck of Owls will go. So if you guys will do me a favor and visit my profile on fanfiction.net to check it out. Please follow the rules I’ve set when voting.  
> https://www.fanfiction.net/u/5333289/Kuroyuki-Kokuyoku
> 
>  
> 
> Ability users and wizards: To clarify, Jasmine, like practically all of the Wizarding World in general, knows that they exist, however, ability users as a whole are more or less ignorant about the existence of wizards save for rare occurrences (that’ll be explained in a later chapter). Since ability users get their powers from being descendants of ancient magical families, they are considered to be a step above squibs because they can only have enough magic to access the family magics and not much else, unlike squibs who have absolutely no magic so to speak. In addition, just like squibs, they too can access and navigate through the Wizarding World, should they choose to do so. However, they can’t go to a Wizarding school, own a wand, or even find a high-paying job that can doesn’t mostly cater towards Wizardkind. Since for the most part, ability users have adapted to better fit into Muggle society by keeping the knowledge of them down to a minimum and forming their own organizations so there’s not much of a need of them to be a part of the Wizarding World as a second-class citizen.
> 
> Edited (7/13/17) (シ_ _)シ


	9. Birthday Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jasmine’s eyes widened with horror as she immediately recognized what they were. Alarm and panic filled her entire being as she screamed out, “GET THEM FAR AWAY FROM HERE!!!! HURRY!!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  
> Sebastian Michaelis: So you wish to offer up your soul to me, if I grant you your wish by being your servant? Are you prepared to accept the consequences?  
> Me: Hells yeah, bring it on, you sexy beast.  
> Sebastian Michaelis: *gouges out Kuroyuki’s eye to make the contract* Now what is your wish?  
> Me: *says in a dramatic voice that would make even Ciel Phantomhive proud* THIS. IS. AN. ORDER! MAKE ME THE SOLE OWNER OF BUNGOU STRAY DOGS AND HARRY POTTER!!!!  
> Sebastian Michaelis: *stares at Kuroyuki in horror as though she just told him to kill every cat in existence* Fuck! Now I have be her servant for all of eternity.  
> Me: …  
> Me: Ah, well, I can settle. *gives Sebastian a Grell-like grin*
> 
> “Speaking.”  
> ‘Italicized-Thoughts.’

“Atsushi-kun, where are the streamers!?” Kunikida shouted at the teen without looking up from the checklist in his notebook.

“I have them right here! I’m setting them up now.” The weretiger yelled back from the other side of the room as he struggled to put up the decoration.

“What about the cake!? And has anyone seen where the presents are located!?” The man cried as he looked around frantically.

“Ah, the cake’s still in the refrigerator. I’ll go get it and put them next to the snack table.” Ranpo replied as he sauntered towards the break room to retrieve the item.

“DON’T YOU DARE EAT ANY OF THE FOOD!!!! ESPECIALLY THE CAKE!!!!” The blond man roared after him.

“By the way, Kunikida-kun, the presents on your desk. You just stacked them by color coordination.” Dazai pointed out.

“I can see that. But it would be very nice…IF YOU HELP OUT WITH THE PREPARATIONS INSTEAD OF TRYING TO EAT YOUR WEIGHT IN SALT!!!!! WE ARE ALREADY 1 MINUTE AND 3 SECONDS BEHIND SCHEDULE!!!!!!!”

“Maa~, maa~. JK-chan and Teddy-kun aren’t even here yet. They’re still finalizing his enrollment at his school.” Dazai drawled casually before correcting his coworker, “And I’ll have you know it’s only a pound. The ancient Chinese used this method to commit suicide so I thought I’d try it out for myself.”

“Later!!” The blond man snapped back. “None of us don’t want to be the one to clean up your corpse. Also I’d rather we not traumatize Teddy-kun on his birthday.” He then went over to help Kyouka who was busy blowing up balloons but had forgotten to tie the strings to them. As the tallest in the room, he can retrieve the balloons from the ceiling and correct her mistake.

Little did anyone knew, an invisible being snuck themselves into the room to drop off a package onto Kunikida’s desk. They then left before anyone took notice of their presence let alone the object left behind.

(◎▼◎)

The Armed Detective Agency is located at the fourth floor of a large red-bricked building. It’s no skyscraper, but through the eyes of a six-year-old child, it might as well be.

“Wooooow~!” Teddy exclaimed with Snitch nestled in his hair imitating his awestruck expression. “This is where everyone works, right?”

“That’s right. The first floor has a café where I’m usually at. All the way up to the top, the fourth floor, is where Ranpo-senpai and Kunikida-kun works with their co-workers.” Jasmine explained to her son.

“And we’re going there now?” He asked excitedly.

“I…may have been bragging about how I was lucky to have such a wonderful son in my life. Next thing you know, everyone’s been wanting to see if you are as adorable as I’ve said you are.”

“Muuuum!” The boy whined and pouted. “Stop saying stuff like that! It’s embarrassing! Boys aren’t adorable, they’re manly as fuck.”

In Jasmine’s mind, she thought there was a loud record scratch as her brain stopped working and her form became as tense as a statue when she heard her precious baby’s language.

Snitch, realizing that her Mistress is _not happy_ , buried herself further into Teddy’s unruly locks and prayed for the resulting storm to pass quickly.

“Mum, are you okay?” Teddy asked in concern. “Your smile looks weird again, and the black aura is back.”

“…Teddy, sweetling…” The young mother said, her voice as sweet like cyanide. “Where did you hear that word?”

“What word?” Her son replied innocently, not even batting an eye at his mother’s unusual behavior.

“That…that word you said earlier… About you not being adorable but manly as…” The young mother trailed off.

“Ooooh~,” Teddy said realizing what she meant. “You mean fuck.”

Jasmine visibly twitched as she heard her beloved little innocently swore again. Whoever has corrupted her baby boy will

“I heard it from Uncle Ron after he and Aunt Mione got married. He drank a lot of the ‘adult drinks’ and was saying a bunch of weird words I didn’t understand.” The woman’s son explained.

“…I see…” So Teddy had accidently picked it up from him after her brother-in-all-but-blood had a little too much Firewhiskey during the reception. That explains everything.

He signed, already figuring what will happen. “Do I have to cover my eyes again the next time Uncle Ron visits?” This always happens whenever his mother gets like this. Every time all the adults tell him he has to turn away and not look or listen because apparently he’s too young to see something so scary. ‘ _But I’m six years old now. I’m big enough to handle it._ ’ He thought grumpily.

“…No, no. I think a Howler may suffice this time.” Jasmine decided as her dark mood dissipated instantly. She turned her attention back to Teddy with her usual gentle expression back on her face. “Now let’s go meet everyone. We wouldn’t want to keep them waiting for too long.”

“Okay!” The little boy cheered as his mother’s hand. Snitch came out of her temporary shelter with a relieved cheep, happy to not deal with another one of her Mistress’s episodes. Putting the incident behind them, they resumed their journey towards the office.

(◎▼◎)

The moment they opened the door, the mother and son pair were met to the sound of party poppers being set off.

“SURPRISE!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TEDDY-KUN!!” The entire agency greeted them.

The entire office of the agency was decorated with bright colors. Streamers hung from the ceiling like rainbow stalactites and large balloons with various characters from many of his favorite animes were tied to chairs scattered about the room. On one side was a long table full of food and drinks with a large two tier cake with blue green trimmed frosting and a number six candle. On a separate desk was a neat pile of presents from everyone in the agency as well as Jasmine’s gift for her son.

“So, Teddy, what do you say to everyone who’ve worked hard putting all this together for you?” His mother reminded him of his manners.

“Thank you!” He said to everyone happily. This was the best day of his life!

(◎▼◎)

So far Teddy’s birthday party went off without a hitch. Everyone enjoyed letting loose and having fun with the little boy around. Snacks were eaten and games were played. Everything had been going just fine until Kenji brought out Twister, which he borrowed from one of his older friends around the city. This proved to be a big mistake when Dazai and Kunikida somehow ended up being tangled in a compromising position. Fortunately, Jasmine had covered her son’s eyes so his innocence wouldn’t be affected. Unfortunately (at least for the two men in question), Yosano had taken pictures and refused to delete them (the woman would share them with Jasmine on a later date and the two spent their whole girl-bonding giggling over their respective collections of blackmail photos). They decided to stop playing and move on to the presents.

With the way the presents were stacked by Kunikida, Teddy began opening them in alphabetical order.

From Atsushi, he got two stuffed animals from the teen. One was a wolf and the other was a white tiger. While searching for Teddy’s present, he came across a crane machine full of the soft toys. Seeing a fluffy wolf amongst the various animals, he zoned in on it and managed to get it after some difficulty. However, it happened to be half-buried underneath a white tiger plushie and he ended up getting both from the game.

From Dazai, it was a camera and a photo album. “So you can preserve all your precious moments. My advice: when you take a happy picture, make sure to remember how you felt when it was taken. So when you look back, even if you now see something that makes you sad and upset, you can look back and never forget that feeling.” As he said that, his dark brown eyes were lightly glazed over as he flashbacked to his Port Mafia days when he would frequent at a bar alongside his two former friends.

From Fukuzawa, he got a basket full of candy from Ranpo’s favorite candy store. The older man’s adopted son had teased him about being clueless when it comes to dealing with children all while giving suggestions and advice on what sort of candy the birthday boy would like.

From Jasmine, he got tickets to the amusement park she had planned on going with Teddy next weekend. Seeing the large number of tickets, he caught on that he was supposed to invite everyone so they can spend more time together. He gave each member of the agency a ticket, keeping two for his mother and himself.

From Kenji, he got a handmade recipe book on beef based dishes. The older boy had asked around on what sort of present he should get for the six-year-old. One of his friends, an old lady by the name of Maede, suggested he give the boy’s mother some traditional recipes she could make for her child. So he went around the city to his favorite restaurants (all of which served beef bowls) collecting the recipes into a book.

From Kunikida, he had gotten a least a dozen notebooks to add to his school supplies. The man commented that it’s not too early to organize oneself and recommended Teddy to use the notebooks as tools to help him keep track of everything. Jasmine merely commented that she’s surprised her friend hadn’t gotten carried away and gotten more of them, so her son would be set until college. He merely replied that such an absurd amount is overkill for a child and that he already bought enough to replenish his own supplies as well.

From Kyouka, he got a rabbit doll. The girl had also been searching with Atsushi while he trying to hunt for the perfect gift to give to the little boy. The same crane machine held some stuffed rabbits that caught her eye. She got the older teen to get two of them so that both of them can have one half of the “pair.”

From Ranpo, he got a bunch of Japanese detective novels. Surprisingly, the man put a lot of thought into what sort of gift Teddy would want. He knew that Teddy is still learning Japanese and is nowhere near fluent and that the boy was a big fan of detective stories thanks to him so it was easy for him to find a present for his friend’s son.

From Tanizaki and Naomi, he got a variety of toys. The two siblings gathered all the clerks together so they can pool in on the effort of buying his gift. Each person picked out a toy and would add it into the growing collection that the siblings would wrap up in a box alongside their own selections.

From Yosano, he got a variety of new clothes. The fashion-conscious doctor specifically picked out ones that would serve to heighten the little boy’s adorableness. From animal onesies to even cosplay, even Jasmine wanted in on the action as she got hooked onto the idea of dressing up her son in cute outfits.

With the last present opened, everyone started cleaning up. However, that’s when they took notice of the item left a little farther away from where the stack of birthday gifts used to be.

“…Huh? There’s one left? I don’t remember seeing that present before.” Kunikida exclaimed as he examined the present.

The box was rectangular and wrapped in shiny, bright green wrapping paper. It was seated the far corner of his desk so it would have been easy to ignore its existence.

“It’s not even labeled. Maybe JK-chan was the one who got.” Kenji guessed after seeing that there was no tag or card included to identify its giver.

Jasmine shook her head. “The tickets were the only thing I got for Teddy.”

“…Then perhaps…it’s a trap from one of our enemies.” Ranpo hypothesized. For some reason, the box gave him a bad feeling.

“An explosive?” Kyouka guessed.

Dazai gingerly picked up the box and felt its weight. “I don’t think so. It’s far too light to be any man-made bomb that I know of.” He concluded and rattled the box gently. The action caused multiple clinks to be heard coming from it. “Also the sounds are all wrong to be grenades.”

“Chemical weapons hidden in the package then? Poison?” Tanizaki suggested.

Realizing the danger everyone could be in, especially her son and the office workers, the young mother turned to the teenaged part-time agency clerks. “Naomi-chan, can you take Teddy down to the café with the others? Please take care of my son until everything’s fine.”

“Sure thing!” The girl chirped. She turned to her brother and cooed at him to hide her anxiety. “Onii-sama~, I’ll see you later~. Come get me soon~ so we’ll share one of JK-chan’s cakes together~.”

“Good, now that they’re out of our way…” Dazai said as all of their clerks and the little boy left out the door. “Yosano-sensei, would the lady like to do the honors?” The bandaged wearing man said in a carefree tone as the doctor rolled her eyes and approached him to claim the box.

“Wait a moment! Why-?” Jasmine protested.

“Relax, JK-chan. Remember, we did tell you that every detective here is an ability user.” Ranpo explained to his friend reassuringly with a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Yosano-san has a healing ability. ‘Thou Shalt Not Die’. Fatal injuries are nothing. Sadly she can’t do anything for minor wounds since they need to be nearly mortal in order for her to activate her ability.”

The doctor slowly tore open the decorative wrapping and cautiously removed the lid. Inside the box were dozens of fist-sized glass balls filled with what looked like beams of colorful lights bouncing off the walls of its small enclosure rapidly.

Seeing them caused an instant reaction in Snitch as the small bird started flying around the room erratically as she kept cheeping and screeching in pure terror.

“Ooooh~! These are so pretty. Is there some string around? I want to hang these up to show them off to people.” Kenji gushed over the balls as he held up one of them.

Jasmine’s eyes widened with horror as she immediately recognized what they were. Alarm and panic filled her entire being as she screamed out, “GET THEM FAR AWAY FROM HERE!!!! HURRY!!!!”

Without hesitation, Atsushi snatched the glass balls from Kenji and Yosano and sprinted towards the window, half transforming his arms in the process. Tearing the windowpane open, he tossed the box out into the sky with all his might.

Everyone watched as the item became a mere speck the further it flew until it accidently hit a group of migrating geese several miles away, scattering its squawking members. Almost immediately, the glass balls in the box exploded, covering the sky and engulfing any flying birds in an array of colorful lights not unlike that of fireworks. To the shock of any onlookers, various species of avian suddenly fell from the sky and onto the ground. Their bodies were completely lifeless yet were devoid a single burn mark or anything that would have come from the bombs. If no one from the agency had witnessed what just happened, they would have assumed that the birds had merely dropped dead in mid-flight without cause.

“What in the world were they?” Kyouka asked quietly, still wide-eyed in shock. After witnessing such a sight, she felt herself run cold at the implications of what might have happened.

“They’re poaching tools.” Jasmine explained, the tone in her voice dark.

“Poaching tools?” Ranpo questioned. Judging by his friend’s behavior, there was more to the story than how it appears.

“Remember how I met Snitch.” She said grimly as she looked down to the still trembling bird the young woman was comforting in her hands. “The poachers I ran into used those damnable things.”

The young woman then explained that the glass balls were meant to be used to kill animals without causing any damage to their bodies. Just a single ball is enough to kill anything within a couple of feet, but a whole box is more than enough to massacre at least an entire block or two. Had Atsushi-kun not thrown them into the sky as far away as he had, then every living thing within maybe a mile of the box would be dead. Not even an autopsy can detect the exact cause of death nor a thorough investigation can even find a trace of the weapons since the balls were also designed to leave nothing behind in order to not affect the harvesting from the carcasses.

However, this was not a work of a poacher. It was an assassination attempt.

“T-That’s horrible!!” Tanizaki exclaimed, very glad they sent his sister down to the café. “Who would dare do such a thing?”

“Whoever it was, they must have a heavy grudge against the agency for the box to be placed here. With every detective is in headquarters, even the Director, now’s the perfect time to make a move against us. Even if we did dispose of the explosives, we’d be blamed for causing mass casualties by the public.” Kunikida observed.

“…No, it’s not the agency they’re after.” The young mother clarified hesitantly.

“JK-chan?” Kenji asked, wondering what she meant.

“…It’s me they want…” She admitted. The woman seemed to withdrawn into herself and looked down in guilt and shame. Her shoulders were tense as though they took on an invisible burden no one could see.

Jasmine should’ve known this would happen eventually. Right when she was just about to catch a break, something always happens that would break the peace she had been searching for. After a short pause, she finally whispered, “I think I have an idea who’s behind this attack.”

(◎▼◎)

Meanwhile, on the other side of Yokohama in an abandoned warehouse, former Death Eater, Thorfinn Rowle, was violently swearing to himself over the recent failed attempt at killing Jasmine Potter.

The plan was that he’d kill the Potter bitch using a bunch of Hel’s Embraces, an experienced wizarding poacher’s best friend. Or as he liked to call them, condensed Killing Curses. They way they work is to first expose the glass balls to light to start the activation process and then detonating them remotely using a trade secret charm. You can be as far away as twenty meters before you go out of range so there was no need to stay close.

It takes careful precision to manipulate the ridiculous amount of spells laced into them so they wouldn’t cancel each other out or destroy their container. Just creating one of those precious glass balls takes a ridiculous amount of time and just the wrong intensity of the right spell can be proven fatal to the person attempting to create them. No trace as the Vanishing Spell gets rid of the glass fragments and no visible damage to your target as the complicated mix of spells is meant to completely shut down organs and short out the organism’s brains. All in all, they were perfect killing tools.

He had expected the box to recognize the HEs and try to get rid of them, and figured it would be too late as the sheer amount would easily take out an entire street of Mudbloods. With Potter’s stupid morals, she wouldn’t dare risk throwing them out the window as the box would kill countless of filthy Muggles.

However, his plan failed. Sure, to his surprise, she did have it thrown out the window, but it flew higher than he thought was possible, allowing them to safely go off in the sky. To his frustration, the only deaths were the stupid birds that got caught up in the blast radius.

Pacing continuously, he furiously tried to think of another plan to get rid of the Mudblood bitch. Thorfinn was all on his own on his self-proclaimed mission. He had no allies and no resources, and the ridiculously expensive HEs had cost him what little money he had scrounged up. But that won’t stop him. He swore not to give up until the Mudblood-Whore-Who-Just-Wouldn’t-Die was dead and his Lord is avenged. First he’ll kill her. Then, the werewolf crotchspawn. After that, he’ll murder all the disgusting Muggles that little slut was so fond of before moving onto her friends.

The disgraced wizard laughed maliciously as he imagined the Potter Mudblood’s ultimate demise. Revenge will be sweet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot escalates. So how am I doing? Any questions, comments, concerns? I’m also open to listen to suggestions for improvements.
> 
> MamaBear!Jasmine: In the canon, when Ron and Hermione got married, Ron got so drunk that he couldn’t remember the night after the ceremony. Considering he’s a bit fond of swearing, I imagined all the kids who happened to be in his presence got some… “language lessons” from him. Also Canon!Harry is said to be very scary when angered, so imagine what would happen when you make him female, occasionally PMSing, and throw in maternal instincts for good measure. This is my spin on how he’ll be like if he was born with a womb, ovaries, and a vagina. 
> 
> Thorfinn Rowle: He’s not an OC but an actual character in the movies and books. While I was trying to find an antagonist for this arc, I needed 1) someone who would side with Voldemort even after the Second Wizarding War, 2) they had to have both a first and last name to make things easier for me, 3) they can’t be a well-known person who would be less likely to slip away under people’s noses, and 4) they, most importantly, have to be canonically alive or at least presumably well enough to become the villain. With those rules I’ve set up for myself during my search, I decided can’t use people like the Malfoys or any of Draco’s schoolmates since I’ve already made them more or less Jasmine’s allies after the war nor can I use more famous people like the Lestrange Brothers or Delores Umbridge because it’s unlikely the British Wizarding World would let them get away with their memorable crimes (e. g. torturing of the Longbottoms for the former and cruel abuse against Muggleborns for the latter). And with that, I give you your bad guy~
> 
> Edited (7/20/17) Σ(`･ω･III)


	10. The Advance Guard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I THOUGHT MOVING TO YOKOHAMA WOULD PUT AN END TO ALL OF THAT, BUT I WAS WROOOOOOOOONG!!! MAYBE NEXT TIME I’M IN IKEBUKURO, I’LL JUST DATE SHIZUO-KUN!!!!!! EVEN IZAYA-KUN COULD MAKE A GOOD BOYFRIEND ONCE HE GETS HIS INFLATED HEAD OUT OF HIS BLOODY ARSE!!!!! WHILE I’M AT IT, I MIGHT AS WELL CONSIDER DAZAI-SAN AS A POTENTIAL FUTURE HUSBAND!!! AT LEAST WITH KUNIKIDA-KUN, HE HAS HIS LIFE PLANNED OUT!!!! AND THEN THERE’S RANPO-SENPAI!!!! I CAN SAVE MYSELF THE NECK PAIN EVERYTIME I WANT TO SPEAK WITH MY MAN FACE TO FACE!!! I’LL EVEN ELOPE WITH ATSUSHI-KUN, HE’S 18 AND LEGAL, RIGHT?!!!” Jasmine continued to blubber as Yosano carefully dragged her out of the café with the owner’s help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  
> Me: *visits Yuuko’s shop* Um…Is this the place that I hear can grant wishes?  
> Ichihara Yuuko: You are correct. Now tell me, what is it that you came to this place for?  
> Me: Can you make the owner of Bungou Stray Dogs and Harry Potter?  
> Ichihara Yuuko: I’m afraid I cannot grant that wish.  
> Me: Why not?  
> Ichihara Yuuko: Because there is no force that exists will ever fulfill that desire.  
> Me *pouts* Shoot, then I’ll have to settle for writing fanfiction. *looks at Yuuko closely* Wanna be my drinking partner?  
> Ichihara Yuuko: WHY, OF COURSE I WILL~! *yells into the kitchen* Watanuki~, get us some bottles of Juyondai sake and make us some sashimi (raw fish meat) and shiokara~! (fermented seafood meat in a brown paste of their viscera)  
> Me: I would like some Camembert cheese with katsuobushi (bonito flakes) and ume. (sour pickled Japanese fruit that’s related to both apricots and plums)  
> Mokona Modoki: *bounces up and down with an empty sake cup* Make me some kakuni!! (stewed pork belly chunks)  
> Doumeki Shizuka: *pops out from behind Watanuki* I want torigai. (Japanese cockle)  
> Watanuki Kimihiro: *flails around like man possessed* THIS ISN’T A RESTAURANT!!! AND YUUKO-SAN, YOU ALREADY HAD HALF A BOTTLE OF AKITA HOMARE SAKE!!!!

Jasmine wanted to say that today was an especially beautiful day. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and the sakura trees are in full bloom. What better way to enjoy this time of year than to celebrate hanami or flower viewing. Nothing beats eating some dango and a homemade bento while watching the sakura petals gently rain upon them.

Too bad the threat of a dangerous dark wizard running around somewhere in the city takes away the charm of the idea. After the petite witch explained who she really was and her connection to the Wizarding World, everyone seemed to become particularly protective towards them. And it certainly didn’t help that both her childhood penpals were the first to volunteer on being the Rowling household’s bodyguards until the culprit was taken care of.

Every morning at exactly five in the morning, Kunikida would be at her doorstep dragging a still sleepy Ranpo with him. After crashing on her couch, he would demand breakfast from her. An hour and a half later, Teddy would come down and join them. Forty-five minutes after eating, Jasmine and her son would be escorted to the building they worked at. After dropping off Teddy at the agency, the young mother would go back down to the first floor and check in at the café. While his mother was working, the little boy would be practicing his Japanese with someone so he can be prepared when he goes to school.

Throughout the day, at least two members of the detective agency would be available to watch over both mother and child, including the Director. Around noon, Jasmine would borrow the café’s kitchen to whip up lunch for her, Teddy, and whoever was watching over them at the time. At three, the young woman gets off of work, and picks her child so they can go home once again with Kunikida and Ranpo escorting them back. And the cycle repeats.

This has been the daily schedule for the Rowling family for the past four days. As relatively peaceful as it was since the attack on Teddy’s birthday, her paranoia was slowly killing her. Every day, Jasmine would be constantly on edge on when the attacker would strike. Judging from their first attempt, it was the work of some self-righteous pureblood from back home who didn’t care about the lives of hundreds or thousands of people so long as he took her out in the process.

The worst part is she doesn’t know who it could be. For all the petite waitress knew, the next customer she served their coffee and cake was actually the culprit under Polyjuice Potion. Or perhaps the agency’s next assignment happens to be a trap in order to flush out the witch away from their protection. It was getting harder and harder for her to control herself. Every time someone calls out to her, it took all of her self-control just to keep herself and her magic from lashing out at the person.

“JK-chan, maybe you should take a break. You look terrible.” Yosano suggested as she eyed Jasmine critically. The poor thing was totally exhausted. Judging from the bags under her eyes, she hadn’t been getting much sleep.

“…Yeah, I guess I could use some tea.” The waitress muttered. She went behind the counter and searched for a bag of tea. Spotting an unopened container of green tea, she fetched it and fixed herself a cup.

“You know you don’t have to worry so much. You can trust us to protect you and Teddy.” The doctor reassured the young woman as she sat down next to her.

“I know. It’s just…I guess I’m just waiting…and the anticipation is driving me nuts, but I can’t help it.” She replied taking a long sip of the hot beverage.

“It’s just…*hic* It’s happening AGAIN!!!!!” Jasmine sobbed out as she suddenly dissolved into tears.

“J-JK-chan?!” Yosano asked in alarm. Did all the stress finally caused her to have an emotional breakdown?

“Those asshats won’t leave me alone!!! Did you know that they’re the reason I can’t find a boyfriend? Every time I settle down somewhere and meet a nice gentleman, HE TURNS OUT TO BE A PATHETIC COWARD WHO’S SCARED OFF BY A LITTLE ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT OR A DOUCHE WHO WANTS TO KILL ME FOR MY MONEY!!!!” The young woman complained loudly as she downed the rest of the tea angrily and slammed the empty ceramic cup on the counter table as though it were a sake bottle. It’s a good thing the café was pretty devoid of customers at this time, otherwise people would be staring at the commotion the petite witch was causing.

“Oh JK-chan. Think of it this way. It’s fate telling you those people don’t deserve you. After all, you’re an amazing young woman. Strong, independent, and a good mother. Any man would be a fool to slip through their fingers.

“EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!!!! I BET YOU’VE NEVER HAD YOUR DATE TURN OUT TO BE A WANTED TERRORIST IN DISGUISE!!!!” Jasmine snapped back at the female detective. “SPEAKING OF WHICH, LAST YEAR I TRIED DATING GIRLS JUST TO SEE IF IT’SMY SEXUALITY THAT’S THE PROBLEM!!! I MANAGED TO FIND A NICE GIRLFRIEND, BUT JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I FINALLY FOUND _THE ONE_ , THE SNAKE BITCH NOT ONLY CHEATED ON ME WITH SOME GUY NAMED STEIN, BUT SHE TURNED OUT TO BE A MOTHERFUCKING DARK WITCH WHO WANTED TO USE MY BODY IN SOME BLOODY RITUAL TO RESURRECT A DARK WIZARD NAMED ASURA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” The woman wailed. The doctor had to admit. For such a small person, she had a nice pair of lungs on her. Not bad for someone who’s barely five feet tall.

“Is there something wrong with JK-chan?” The elderly owner of the café asked as he approached the women.

“I’m not sure. I thought she‘s having an emotional breakdown, but it looks more to me like she’s sad drunk. Was the tea she drank actually alcoholic or something?” Yosano explained as she ignored the quiet sobbing next to her.

“Tea? What tea? We just ran out of them yesterday. I’ve been meaning to get some more today but I’ve forgotten.” The owner said in confusion.

“WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS WRONG WITH MEEEEEEEE???!!!!! AM I CURSED OR SOMETHING???!!! ALL I EVER WANT IN LIFE IS TO LIVE PEACEFULLY AND SETTLE DOWN WITH A NICE HUSBAND AND MAKE TEDDY A BIG BROTHER TO A WHOLE QUIDDITCH TEAM WORTH OF KIDS!!!!! IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK???!!!!!” The young woman lamented.

“That’s it! I’m getting you to the agency.” The older woman said as she got up and went to the counter to fetch the container of tea the waitress had used and then grabbed the younger woman’s mug. Whatever is in the tea that’s making her behave this way, they’ll find out once the samples have been tested.

“I THOUGHT MOVING TO YOKOHAMA WOULD PUT AN END TO ALL OF THAT, BUT I WAS WROOOOOOOOONG!!! MAYBE NEXT TIME I’M IN IKEBUKURO, I’LL JUST DATE SHIZUO-KUN!!!!!! EVEN IZAYA-KUN COULD MAKE A GOOD BOYFRIEND ONCE HE GETS HIS INFLATED HEAD OUT OF HIS BLOODY ARSE!!!!! WHILE I’M AT IT, I MIGHT AS WELL CONSIDER DAZAI-SAN AS A POTENTIAL FUTURE HUSBAND!!! AT LEAST WITH KUNIKIDA-KUN, HE HAS HIS LIFE PLANNED OUT!!!! AND THEN THERE’S RANPO-SENPAI!!!! I CAN SAVE MYSELF THE NECK PAIN EVERYTIME I WANT TO SPEAK WITH MY MAN FACE TO FACE!!! I’LL EVEN ELOPE WITH ATSUSHI-KUN, HE’S 18 AND LEGAL, RIGHT?!!!” Jasmine continued to blubber as Yosano carefully dragged her out of the café with the owner’s help.

(◎▼◎)

“Rowling-san’s circulatory system contains traces of _atropa belladonna_ leaves. Thankfully, it’s not killing her…even if it is causing her to…behave unusually.” Yuuki Asuna, the Mediwitch treating Jasmine, explained her diagnosis.

“Thank you very much, Yuuki-sensei. You have no idea how relieved we are.” Kunikida said to the Mediwitch with a bow.

“Please I’m just doing my job.” She replied.

The petite witch in question was currently knocked out on the agency’s couch under a spell-induced deep sleep so the affects of the poison he ingested can wear off on its own.

As it turns out, the entire container of green tea the café waitress had opened contained lethal amounts of deadly nightshade. It was sheer luck that no one else has suffered from the latest attempt on Jasmine’s life. Whoever it is, they didn’t realize how powerful the young woman’s immune system is.

Once the Japanese Healer left the agency, they turned their attention to finding out who’s behind this latest murder attempt.

“Did you see anyone who could’ve been our perpetrator?” Ranpo asked the agency’s doctor.

“There have been 5 other customers that came when I took over from you. Most were regulars, but there were 2 who were foreigners.” Yosano replied, recalling that the men seemed a little shifty. While they didn’t seem English, they do look like they are involved in some shady business.

“I just called my contact. Apparently something came up that caught her attention, so she won’t get back to me until tomorrow. Something about going rat hunting?” Dazai announced as he snapped his phone shut. He frowned a little at Luna’s cryptic message. It seems like there’s a traitor involved back in the British Wizarding World.

Teddy shuddered and murmured quietly, “Aunt Luna must be enjoying herself then.” Knowing her, whoever was unfortunate enough to catch her attention is guaranteed a psychological mindfuck.

There was this one time a wizard spewed verbal abuse at him for being “an abomination and a stain on proper society just like the rest of his monstrous kind.” Unfortunately for the man, the ditzy-looking blonde was babysitting him at the time, and the witch proved that she can be just as vicious as his mother when it comes to getting payback. Jasmine may make you suffer a hundred times over, but it’s Luna who can make you regret ever existing.

(◎▼◎)

“You stupid idiots! How could you have failed?!!” Thorfinn roared furiously at his underlings in his hideout. His newly acquired minions were all illegal immigrants from various countries who can speak English. Under the pretense of being paid large amounts of gold he’ll get once he offs the Potter whore, they’ll follow his every command.

“Hey, it’s not our fault the bitch gets drunk off of poison!! You’re the one who gave us the poison! We just planted it somewhere where she’ll see it and then drink the damn leaf juice!!” A large Spanish man by the name of Yammy complained.

“Crucio!” The former Death Eater said as he pointed his wand at the person who talked back. Agonizing screams of pain filled up the whole room for a whole minute before he finally stopped his torture. “Did I say you can talk back, you lowly wretch?!! Just shut up and follow my orders or your next failure will cost you your life!! Avada Kedevra!!” To prove his point, he shot the spell at a passing dog, killing it instantly.

“Um, boss? When are we getting paid?” Ottavio, one of the newer recruits, asked him timidly.

“Diffindo!” He yelled out, cutting off the index finger of the Italian man. “You’ll get your money when I see her body!! Until then you won’t get a single Knut!!” Thorfinn growled out as he ignored the man’s screams.

As if he even has the means to pay these lowly Muggles. The only repayment they’ll get is the satisfaction of serving an upstanding pureblood wizard such as himself. It’s time to create a new plan to kill that Mudblood bitch. Now where did he put that book on dark ritual magics?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hanami: The Japanese traditional custom of enjoying the ephemeral beauty of flowers since the blossoms only last about a week or two. These are usually celebrated by picnicking. It can get pretty rowdy since getting drunk off of sake is pretty common. At this point in the story, the timing is about the beginning of April since Teddy is about to start first grade in Japan and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom.
> 
> Atropa belladonna: It’s also known as deadly nightshade or simply belladonna. It’s highly poisonous with sweet-tasting berries. Just a few grams of them is enough to kill a person.
> 
> Edited (7/20/17) (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و


	11. The Very Secret Diary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luna...nuff said. At least Neville is there to rein her in...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer:  
> Me *fulfills Alluka’s three requests* Can I own the Bungou Stray Dogs and Harry Potter franchises?  
> Alluka Zoldyck: *as Nanika* Hai!  
> Three days later, a shipping container full of Bungou Stray Dog manga volumes and Harry Potter novels crashed onto Kuroyuki’s house. Not wanting her to sue them for accidently making her homeless, every merchandise that came out of both franchises that day was sent to her address, and she was gifted a house that is a replica of the Grimmauld Place from Harry Potter to replace her destroyed house.  
> Me: … *stares at all the crap she got while hugging a Chuuya plushie* Not that I’m complaining, but maybe I should’ve worded my wish better.

Luna Longbottom née Lovegood was back in Yokohama, Japan. Only this time, she came with her beloved husband, Neville. A little while ago, she had received a short message delivered by Snitch hinting of a possibility that there might a plant in the Ministry.

Sure enough, Jasmine’s instincts were proven correct. Turns out, one of the Unspeakables had connections to former Death Eater Unspeakable Augustus Rookwood. Not only did they use an obscure and experimental spell that mimicked the effects of the Fidelius Charm to hide their missing felon’s identity and location, but they also provided whatever materials he needed to put his plans into motion.

Even though they’ve completely cut off their target’s contact and supplier in the Wizarding World, the damage was already done. Whatever it was the former Death Eater was planning on doing, apparently he no longer needed them so they were cut loose.

Interrogations only revealed that the criminal is planning on getting revenge on Jasmine Potter killing her and everyone around her, and that was it. Sadly, there didn’t get any further information from them. It seems like this Death Eater was more competent than the rest as he thoroughly covered his tracks the moment he left Britain. And with the spell still in place, it would take weeks before the Unspeakables can remove it so the Aurors can track him down. Hopefully when that happens, the dark wizard hasn’t made a move on Jasmine just yet.

This is where Luna and Neville come in. Her connections with Yokohama’s ability user organizations make her an essential asset in helping both parties resolve the situation with her friend. Add on to the fact that she and her husband were former members of the Defense Association. And so Minister Shacklebolt entrusted the Longbottom couple to represent the British Ministry of Magic on the case.

(◎▼◎)

Akutagawa Ryuunosuke was on his way back to Port Mafia’s headquarters to report on his latest successful mission. It was a typical day for him. Wake up. Go on a couple of missions. Report when finished. Then do whatever in between those missions and make sure whatever you do doesn’t cause trouble for the Mafia. Aside from an usual intelligence report on a recent assassination attack on a civilian, there wasn’t anything usual as of late.

To be honest, he was getting rather bored with his routine already. Hopefully, something exciting shows up soon.

Akutagawa would later regret thinking that moments after.

“ICKLE RYUU~~~!!” A woman’s voice squealed in his direction. This caused the man’s body to immediately tense up and his eyes widen with sheer terror. While it shouldn’t be possible because of how sickly pale Akutagawa was already, but somehow his features seemed to blend in with his white cravat.

Slowly, Akutagawa mechanically turned his head to see who was calling for him. To his horror, the one person in the world he didn’t want to deal with was. RUNNING. TOWARDS. HIM.

“Have you been getting your daily hugs lately!!? If not, then let me join you and Miss Higuchi! This way, you’ll have twice the hugs you need! In fact, why not have everyone join in so we’ll have a big group to rid of your Wrackspurt infestation~!!” Luna cooed at him loudly as she gleefully skipped to him. She was eluding a ridiculously joyful aura that bathed her surroundings in a bright glittery yellow with various flowers.

However, instead of being happy to her, all he could feel from that cheery atmosphere was DREAD!

“OH HELL FUCKING NO!!!!!!!!!” Akutagawa Ryuunosuke screamed. Then Port Mafia’s most fearsome, bloodthirsty killer, the Silent Rabid Dog himself, turned tail and ran away from the crazy woman, almost breaking the sound barrier in the process.

“Ickle Ryuu!? Where are you going?! Oh, I know~! You’re going to find more friends to hug! That’s great! The more the merrier~!” The blonde witch said as she skipped faster to catch up to him.

Casually jogging after the two of them at his own pace, Neville sighed long-sufferingly as he wondered what kind of gift basket the poor sod would like as an apology for his eccentric wife’s antics. Flowers are nice. Everyone loves flowers, right?

(◎▼◎)

“Are you sure this person is trustworthy, Dazai-san?” Tanizaki asked.

“Don’t worry so much. If I recall, Luna-chan was JK-chan’s kohai in Hogwarts. Not only that, she’s married to JK-chan’s godbrother. So the chances of her being a traitor are incredibly slim,” explained the bandaged brunet. The blonde witch was just as highly loyal to her friends as Jasmine. To her, the older woman was her big sister in all but blood. It would have to be a cold day in Hell before Luna even toys with the thought of stabbing Jasmine in the back.

Upon noticing that Dazai was lazing about. Again. Kunikida let out a loud guttural growl and stopped working briefly and stood up from his desk. He quickly made his way towards his partner to verbally abuse his coworker but was suddenly interrupted.

The door was suddenly kicked down by an exuberant blonde witch, and Snitch flew in and cheeped happily at everyone as two people walked into the room.

“HONEY! I’M HOME~!!” Luna shouted cheerfully as she sauntered in as she swung her purse around like a helicopter with a skip in her step all while clinging to her husband’s arm.

“Hi, Luna-chan~! Eccentric as always~!” Dazai greeted back.

The young woman let go of Neville’s arm and bounced up to him. “Hello again, Mister Dazai~. I see your Wrackspurt infestation is much better since the last I saw you. But it still needs a bit of tending to in my opinion.”

The brunet scratched the back of his head and smiled amicably as Snitch settled onto his unkempt locks. “Thanks, Luna-chan… I think?”

“Is Jasmine here? We’re supposed to debrief her with what we just found out.” Neville inquired, noticing it was just the two men and a few clerks in the agency.

The blonde witch also looked around the room expectantly. “Oh, and where’s our little Teddy bear? I thought I’d give him my present from his Auntie Luna and Uncle Nev.”

“He and his mother are at their house with some of our co-workers. After what happened to JK-chan recently, we’d figured it would be safer if both of them are kept together in the same place.” Kunikida replied.

“Oh pooh, later then.” The witch actually pouted at the missed opportunity.

Neville, on the other hand, narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “You said something had happened to Jasmine. She is alright, is she?” Seeing as his wife hasn’t freaked out yet, it’s safe to say that their friend is alright and in good hands, however, he can’t be too careful. Don’t get him wrong. He trusts Luna with his life, but there can be times when her instincts are off or she had missed something.

“Just the other day, JK-chan was poisoned by one of her customers. We’ve managed to find out that there was a foreigner going around recruiting any illegal immigrants who can speak English. But the problem is, we can’t find out our culprit’s identity or even come up with a proper description to figure out what our suspect even looks like.”

The wizard sighed. “Figures. We’re also at a dead end on that as well. Let’s compare our information and see what we missed. Maybe we can figure out something from there,” he said, making the detectives nod in approval.

Dazai reached up and gently plucked the small golden bird from his head. “Snitch, can you be a dear and get your mother for me? She might want to be here for this.” The little bird cheeped in affirmative and then took off out the open window of the agency.

“Don’t we need to tell her the address or something?” Tanizaki questioned.

If he remembered correctly, Snitch wasn’t an postal owl. A postal owl has magic imbedded in their very being that allows them to carry their deliveries with just a name. If he remembers correctly from Jasmine’s explanation, the little Golden Snidget didn’t have that as the standard magic is only compatible with owls and no other avians. Plus as an endangered magical species, it’s illegal for any wizard, including Jasmine, to even cast magic on the little golden bird out of fear that it might cause harm to her fragile body.

Dazai shook his head. “No, Snitch is JK-chan’s familiar. Their bond allows Snitch to locate Jasmine anytime and anywhere in the world. So expect everyone to show up within an hour at most.”

(◎▼◎)

Barely thirty minutes later, Jasmine eventually showed up with Atsushi holding a Teddy napping in his arms alongside Kyouka and Kenji, followed by Ranpo and Yosano, who had just finished up a case and decided to traveled back to the agency with them.

“CRUMPLE-HORNED SNORKACKS!!!” Luna gasped and squealed with joy once she spotted the group of people that came in.

“E-Excuse me?” Atsushi squeaked, completely taken aback at this woman’s reaction to them.

The blonde witch ignored him in favor of flitting about each person, her eyes shining as she took in their every trait. “There’s so many of you and so well developed! If I had known that Japan of all places has entire _dens_ of them, I would’ve come earlier!” Then the witch stopped and added with a slight blush and a glazed look in her eyes, “Ooh~ I wonder if Nev will be interested in a 4 th honeymoon here.”

Said husband sighed. “No, Luna. You’re not allowed to drag me to the nearest love hotel. No matter how nice and fun they look,” he said to her sternly, making his wife pout like a child.

While this was happening, Atsushi made his way over to the agency’s couches and gently laid down the still sleeping six-year-old on them. Kyouka immediately came over with a blanket she had fetch from their supplies and tucked Teddy in. “L-Luna-san, pardon me for interrupting, but what are these…uh…crumpet horn snore-stacks-” The weretiger awkwardly asked, tripping over the strange words.

“Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.” Luna cheerfully corrected but didn’t elaborate any further than that.

The detectives turned to the two godsiblings expectantly, hoping that one of the two can satisfy their curiosity on what the eccentric witch was referring to.

“Hey, don’t look at me. I may know what ‘Wrackspurts’ and ‘Heliopaths’ are, but I still have absolutely no idea what she means by a ‘Crumple-Horned Snorkack’.” Jasmine said with a shrug of her shoulders.

“Same. And I married the woman.” Neville interjected with a raised hand.

“We don’t have time for this! Before we disrupt my schedule any further, let’s begin the meeting immediately!” Kunikida interrupted with an impatient scowl.

As a reply, Luna went over to the office desks, and in one swift move, she cleared three of them by sweeping everything off and onto the floor. (Sadly, Kunikida’s office desk happened to be one of the three.) Ignoring the tall blond man’s silent scream of despair, the blonde witch reached into her purse and pulled out a thick packet of parchment and papers that contained all the information the British Ministry of Magic had on the situation and spread them across all the tables for everyone to view.

Spotting a specific document, Dazai casually picked up a transcript of the interrogation interview to examine it and asked out of curiosity, “So what did you people do to our little accomplice? Are you sure this is everything? There could be something they missed.”

“Oh that…” Luna said serenely then her smile took on a menacing undertone. “ **There wasn’t much of them left after I was done wringing their brain~.** ”

“Trust me. We pulled out everything from their fourth birthday party to when they last used the bathroom. You can take a crack at them if you want, but I imagine it’ll be pretty hard getting anything more out of a vegetable.” Neville pointed out, tapping a document that had all the recorded trivial facts the accomplice knew.

“Please tell me the Ministry doesn’t have an infestation of _rats_ in their ranks.” Jasmine asked the couple, spitting out the word, “rats”, as though it was the foulest thing on the planet.

Luna smiled and shook her head. “Thankfully, no. It was just this one. This person was an Unspeakable who was most unhappy with the changes made after the war. Turns out, they’ve been at this for years. So it wasn’t just Potter Luck that Jasmine keeps coming across dark wizards as she traveled. You can thank them for being the reason why those nifty little toys keep showing up in her presence.”

“You mean the Hel’s Embraces and the poison?” Dazai said.

“If you’re not supposed to exist, then how can you hope to have access to all the items you need? Oh, before I forget…” Luna said, reaching into her purse and pulled out a large book and deposited it in front of her friend. “I’ll leave this here. Have fun while Nev and I tour the city.”

“No love hotels please. We can do that _after_ we’re done, dearest.” The wizard reminded his wife as they left the agency.

“What’s that?”

“A grimoire.” The petite witch replied before opening the book to take a look at its contents. “The Prewitt Family Grimoire, to be precise.”

“…So why exactly are you reading it, JK-chan?” Dazai asked, craning his head to read over her shoulder before pausing as he spotted a certain name when Jasmine paused to read a specific page.

Jasmine simply ignored him and continued leafing through the rest of the pages. “…Huh… maybe I should give Ron a call later or something.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, but Luna’s back~! And bringing the hubby along for the ride! Speaking of Neville, it was kinda hard for me to try to write him without making him seem like a total pushover. I wanted to convey that since the war Neville has changed a lot. After he got together with Luna, he’s become something of a “roll with it” straight man to her unusual antics. Unless she’s doing something incredibly dangerous, he doesn’t butt in and just helps his wife deal with the aftermath. So what do you guys think? Did I do Neville’s personality justice or did Luna completely overshadow her hubby? (´つヮ⊂)

**Author's Note:**

> Be warned! Updates will be sporadic at best, so please be patient with me.  
> But anyways thanks for reading, and please leave behind constructive criticism. (*ﾉω-)


End file.
